This edition of Council Clippings covers the UHR and GSS meetings from Jan. 29, 2008.
Bill of the Week: BGSA bill for [GT]2
PASSED: Joint allocation to Black Graduate Student Association, requesting $2889.10 for [GT]2 (Georgia Tech Graduate Symposium), a two-day research presentation conference, amended by JFC recommendation down to $948.22 (passed UHR 26-1-0, passed GSS 30-0-2)
[GT]2 is a research symposium for graduate students, and 2008 will be the sixth year that the Black Graduate Student Association has held the event. The most substantial part of the original bill was, by a large margin, the costs of facilities and venues. Had there been an available space in the Student Center, it would have been at no cost, but the representative from the organization said the Student Center was booked.
The Joint Finance Committee recommended against funding any facilities due to the fact that the Student Center Ballroom is available for free. They also recommended against funding for thank-you letters and certificates of participation since those can be produced as photocopied flyers.
The GSS discussed whether to carry out the JFC’s recommendation against funding the venue costs. MATH senator Mitch Keller was the most vocal against the funding, saying that because this event is not new but has been occurring annually for years, the organization should have had plenty of time to secure a free venue. Giving them this funding, he said, would not represent the SGA sticking to its standards.
Defenders, including EAS senator Grant Farmer and at-large senator Cornelius Ejimifor, argued against taking such a hard-line against an organization making a late request for funding that is not unlike those made by many other organizations, and urged the GSS to maintain consistency in meeting such requests.
In the end, the JFC recommendation against the funding was upheld and the GSS passed the bill, sans venue costs. The UHR also passed it, with much less fanfare, per the JFC recommendation.
Next week
The UHR will consider the resolution against Ga. House Bill 154 which they were unable to vote on this week. They will also vote on a joint allocation to the Badminton Club which was passed easily in the GSS. Other organizations up for funding next week include the Sailing Club, Engineering Students Without Borders, Students Organizing for Sustainability, Veritas Forum, Briaerean Honor Society, and the CRC.