This edition of Council Clippings covers the UHR and GSS meetings from March 2, 2010.
SGA considered a bill put forward by a student group to fund a trip to the 2010 INNOVATE conference. The conference is an international academic gathering for undergraduate and graduate engineering, science and business students. Attendees will explore the relationship between technology, globalization and leadership in Asia. This year five graduate and nine undergraduate students will attend the conference in Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City. The bill requested funding for the conference fee and travel expenses, totaling approximately $2,200. The bill passed UHR 42-2-0 and GSS 22-0-1.
Christian Campus Fellowship (CCF) sought funding from SGA to fund an alternative service trip to Haiti during spring break. The organization requested funding for travel and translators for the duration of the trip, totaling approximately $1146. CCF was approached by the Haitian Christian Mission (HCM) to participate in a service project over spring break. Due to the damage caused by the earthquake in Haiti, HCM requested students from CCF to travel to Haiti and help them perform a boundary survey of their new campus, create a database for their medical records and create a video to show Tech students about relief work in Haiti.
According to an organizational representative for CCF, the site would eventually house a church, K-12 school, university, OB/GYN and the headquarters for HCM. According to JFC policy, SGA is not allowed to fund religious activities pursued by any organization. GSS sided with the JFC recommendations, and failed the bill 3-16-4. A debate ensued in UHR about whether the organization was involved in proselytizing by performing service for a Christian organization like HCM.
Those in favor of the bill argued that the bill only requested funding for travel and translators, and did not mean that CCF would be proselytizing. Some stated that not funding the bill would be discriminating against CCF. Those against the bill argued that while CCF itself may not have been involved in proselytizing, the organization for which the funds would enable them to volunteer for Christian missions. UHR waived JFC policy and passed it 31-10-2, however the bill failed to meet the enactment ratio.
Representatives considered a bill to allocate funding to the Wushu Club, an organization practicing the art of Wushu martial arts. The organization requested funding for ten members to attend a national competition in Ore. The bill totaled $2200 and passed GSS unanimously, with UHR passing it 43-1-0.
GT Trailblazers requested funding for two spring break trips, one to the Pacific Crest Trails near San Diego and the other to Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee. The bill requested funding for airfare to San Diego and driving expenses to the Smokey Mountain National Park. The funding amount was initially $3955.60, but was amended to $1079.00 following a drop in the quantity of attendees. The bill passed GSS 19-4-0 and UHR 40-1-3.