The Student Government Senate passed a resolution 17-0-0 to amend the Student Government Budget at its weekly meeting Tuesday evening in the Student Center.
The resolution calls to pull unused money from the budget and put that money in a new line item that will make it available for student organization funding. The Business and Finance Committee’s Student Organization Allocation Budget has come close to becoming depleted in recent weeks and this resolution rectifies the problem.
The new line item, $14,092.54, is comprised of $8,000 from payroll, $2,500 from advertising, $2,750 from Department of Public Safety costs and the remaining $842.54 from the student organization budget. The budget was developed by Student Government President Steven Cole, Director of Finance Evan Schrauben and Judicial Sergeant John McAllister.
The resolution also creates a board to oversee the changes, the Emergency Financial Advisory Board.
The resolution said “[This] amendment allows Student Government to continue providing financial assistance to student organizations for the remainder of the academic year.”
Cole said this resolution will ensure student organizations receive funds “as fast as possible.”
Senator Joseph Pernicano said the amendment will allow the Business and Finance Committee to perform its “most important job” of funding student organizations.
“I think President Cole and Director Schrauben put an immense amount of time into this, down to every single detail” said Pernicano. “I think this is the most responsible way to address the budget shortfall that we have for student organizations.”
The Business and Finance Committee will also be using a new email process to pass allocations for the rest of the academic year. Once a student organization submits their funding application through the student organization funding portal, it will be directed through the rest of the verification process via email by Schrauben and the Business and Finance Committee.
A resolution to codify a policy related to dual flush restroom options at Eastern Michigan University passed 16-0-0. The resolution pertains to restrooms in newly constructed and renovated buildings on campus.
According to the resolution, EMU could conserve a water volume of up to 30 percent by using Sloan ECOS Exposed Dual Flush Retrofits, which are currently used on some toilets. The switch would make campus more environmentally friendly.
Speaker of the Senate Kiera Fegan, who authored the resolution, said the only change would be an attachment, not a new toilet model.
“Doing this is a part of retrofitting our university” Senator Leah VanLandingham said. “Doing this just adds to the things we can do to put Eastern back on the map of being a sustainable college which adds some credibility to our school, it gives us a better name, and it makes us more green.”
VanLandingham said the water the toilets would conserve will save the university a lot of money in the long run.
A resolution to urge the REC/IM to provide clear and consistent enforcement of rules and regulations, without regard to gender, was passed 16-0-0. Senator Marie Annaliese Corace authored the resolution.
The resolution states the following: “Whereas, a female student being mistreated by REC IM staff members, and being told to leave the REC IM until she was appropriately dressed in a shirt over her sports bra, is inconsistent with the action taken against males when they are without a shirt.”
The resolution resolves that Student Government urge the REC IM to hold males to the same dress code as females.
Fegan gave an update on the Student Government Energy and Sustainability Commission. The commission will hold the “Get Off Your Glass” event at noon on April 2 to clean up EMU’s campus. Students who would like to attend can meet the commission at noon in the Student Government Office, Student Center Room 342.
Provisional Senator Richard Schockley was sworn in as Senator.
Committee meetings will be held next Tuesday, March 15 in the Student Center. For a full schedule and more information on Student Government, go here.
