Story Austin Cannon
Drake University Student Senate had one major task to attend to April 12: passing the budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.
The issue was tabled at the beginning of the meeting. A larger-than-normal amount of proxies were seated around the table, covering for absent senators.
Student Body Treasurer
Michael Riebel expressed that concern as he re-introduced the motion.
“I think we’ve got through some of the questions and reasoning behind SFAC’s (Student Fees Allocation Committee) decisions … but I do see a lot of proxies as far as votes are concerned (for) some other senators,” Riebel said.
After the motion was tabled, Senate moved on to new business, and a few of the previously absent senators trickled in. Once all the new business had been attended to, the motion was then reconsidered and passed unanimously.
The 2013-14 budget will supply 22 approved annually-funded organizations with ample compensation. The Board of Student Communications receives 27 percent of the Student Fees Allocation, and no more than 63 percent will be budgeted to other organizations seeking funding.
Senate also deliberated whether or not to allocate funding for “DUH Magazine” for the 2013-14 year. The magazine was approved as a campus organization in November. It was then placed under the purview of the BSC.
The issue at hand is that if “DUH” is funded exclusively by the BSC, it would take away funding from other campus publications, such as The Times-Delphic and the Drake Broadcasting System.
Senate would match the BSC’s allocated funding of $3,150 for one year, until the magazine could secure long-term funding from the BSC.
Sen. Steven Slade introduced the proposal, citing that the funding would be reconsidered for the 2014-15 year.
“This would be a one-year Band-Aid,” Slade said. “For the following year, the 14-15 year, that could be changed.”
Sen. Zachary Keller voiced the majority opinion that the BSC should decide how much
funding it wants to allocate
towards “DUH” before approaching Senate.
“I feel that the BSC should decide on how much it should allocate towards ‘DUH,’ based on its finances this year before we decide to match any funds,” Keller said.
Riebel also noted that the BSC had other avenues of funding its publications.
“With their reserve, I think that is the perfect reason for them to dip into that,” Riebel said.
The motion to match the BSC’s funding failed, receiving only three supporting votes.
Senate also took a step towards utilizing the Quasi Endowment funds by forming a special Ad Hoc committee to investigate possible uses.
Sens. Emily Grimm, Joshua Schoenblatt, Keller, Joey Gale, Ekta Haria and Vice President of Student Life David Karaz will serve on the committee, with Keller as its chair.
While no immediate plans are in place for the Quasi Endowment, this committee will explore different options and ideas for the endowment.
The committee will discuss the different ideas and present them to Senate before the end of the semester, laying the foundation for the next session.
In other business, the Drake Ultimate Club was approved for funding to cover costs for its sectional and regional tournaments. The Coalition of Black Students was also approved for funding for the Drake Relays Step Show on April 27.
SFAC also delegated funds to the Des Moines Youth Learning Garden to serve as an educational tool for young students.
