During one of its shorter meetings Wednesday night, the ASUO Student Senate handled just one special request, allowing the ASUO Crisis Center to rest a little easier.
What the center wanted most was money for a new futon. After some debate, that’s what it got — plus a little more.
“It’s been there seven years and it’s been used every day,” said Maureen Morrison, the Crisis Center representative who presented the special request. “The futon is used day and night, and I think we’ve had our wear and tear.”
Senate granted the group the $649 it needed to purchase the futon along with a few other items, such as new lamps and a new shower curtain.
But the approval was not without a fight.
When Sen. Jackie Ray asked how much money was in the center’s other accounts, Morrison replied it had “less than a hundred dollars.”
Senate President Peter Watts, however, pointed out that the center had $2,832.35 in its fundraising account. A precedent Senate set this year dictates that groups should try fundraising before approaching Senate for more money.
After consulting Crisis Center Director Alison Lusk, Morrison explained that the more than $2,000 is used to prepay keynote speakers and to reserve rooms in the EMU.
Lusk said it will also help pay for the center’s Crisis Prevention conference, which is coming in February.
However, some senators stuck by the precedent and urged the center to raise funds first and ask for surplus money second.
“This is a good cause and stuff, but what we’re trying to say is this is a last resort,” Senate treasurer Greg Zimel said.
But Morrison said the Crisis Center staff is composed of volunteers who work 15-hour shifts, so she thought it was inappropriate to ask them to come in for more hours to raise money.
“We’ve tried that route before and it hasn’t worked,” she said.
When asked if the center would spend its fundraising money on the futon if it did not receive its special request, Morrison said it would not. Rather, the center would wait until after the conference because it did not want to put itself in a position where it did not have enough money to pay for its event.
Voicing his support of the request, Sen. C.J. Gabbe said that “it’s the kind of thing where we have all this money available, and there’s this program that does this really great work … It’s important to look at precedent, but it’s important to look at programs, too.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Senate’s surplus funds available for the rest of the term were $38,701.
The request — passed with 10 senators in favor and five opposed — covered the cost of the futon as well as those of new lamps, a new shower curtain, and an updated desk reference to replace the center’s current reference, which dates from 1990.
Morrison said she understood if Senate was not willing to cover the lamps, the curtain and the reference. But, she said, “the bed is our most important resource that we need right now.”
In other business, Senate updated its special request form and listened to a presentation about seven ballot measures on the November ballot.