Minutes from February 20, 2008

Club/Org

Event/Program

Funding Amount

Vote

Salsa Dance Club

Spring Semester Salsa Lessons

$641.27

Mike moved, Tilak seconded, motion passed by general consent

Oxy Student Film Festival

Oxy Student Film Festival

$95.03

Mike moved, Monikah seconded, motion passed by general consent

Mike noted that Programming Board was funding the prizes, so the Senate would just fund all of the programs and fliers. 

Student Labor Action Coalition

Employee Appreciation Lunch

$895.51

Mike moved, Rob seconded, motion passed by general consent

International Students Organization

International Week

$848.20

Mike moved, Rozell seconded, motion passed by general consent

Harambee

Harambee T-Shirts

$142.94

Mike moved, Santiago seconded, motion passed by general consent

Newman Catholic Community

Spring Retreat

$25.00

Mike moved, Patrick seconded, and the motion was passed by general consent. 

Andrew asked if Mike had spoken to them concerning this low allocation; he had not opportunity to do so.  Xochiltl asked if they should conduct a deeper exploration of the issue, to which Mike replied that this would be fine, since he had given Newman the lowest amount due to the fact that the off-campus, expensive, low-attendance event had caused the algorithm to yield a negative number.   Andrew pointed out that if the club had real trouble financing this event, they would most likely come before Senate.  Ryan noted that they could fund the event retroactively if they tabled the issue.  Andrew replied that the event seemed to be low priority for Senate. 

Steez Magazine

Issues of Steez Magazine (2^nd Semester)

$1660.62

Motion passed 9-0-2 with Mike and Andrew abstaining

George Denny apologized for being frustrated with the Senate the week previous.  He extolled Steez as an opportunity found only in small schools that benefits the staff, photographers, and readers alike.  He reminded the Senate that during the previous semester, he had requested four issues only to compromise for three, and that this semester he had attempted to streamline the process by requesting three issues, but was now compromising for two.  George then stated that he could put out a second, compact issue for $240 more of funding at a cost of $900. 

Santiago informed George of the upcoming club mixer where club members would be able to share fundraising ideas.  George replied that fundraisers had not worked for Steez in the past.  Patrick asked if Steez had looked into ads; George replied that this would constitute stepping on the toes of the Occidental Weekly, as they would most likely be using the same ad base.

Santiago moved to increase Steez’s funding to $1900.  Rob seconded, and the motion failed 3-6-2 with Tilak, Xochiltl, Dominique, Patrick, Monikah, Patrick, and Rozell opposing and Mike and Andrew abstaining. 

George asked if he could withdraw his request and submit another asking for more money so that he would be underfunded and acquire enough monies for two issues.  Mike replied that this would require inflating his attendance.  The Senate agreed that this would constitute an ethical dilemma. 

Xochiltl asked Mike what the final figures for Senate Discretionary would be if everything were funded as per his recommendations; Mike replied that the fund would be at 16.5%, but that tonight’s funding requests comprised most if not all of the semester’s large events. 

Rob moved to allocate $120.00 more than the recommended funding amount.  Santiago seconded, and the motion failed 4-3-4 with Tilak, Xochiltl, and Monikah opposing and Andrew, Mike, Patrick and Rozell abstaining. 

Dance Production

Dance Performance

$2528.39

Mike moved, Santiago seconded, motion passed by general consent

BSA

The Cool featuring Lupe Fiasco

$2500.00

Andrew moved, Tilak seconded, motion passed 9-2-0 with Rob and Don opposed

Julian Mitchell told the Senate that he considered The Cool to be more than a concert event, but an awareness raiser of prostate cancer through means such as helpful Cooler displays [CoS Note: In the interest of remaining reticent, I refrained from pointing out the marketing possibilities for an event under the umbrella of “The Cool” being held in the Cooler.  Meanwhile, in my mind I awarded myself a Nobel Prize for this piercing insight.]  He informed the Senate that he would be able to pull off the event with $2500.00 of funding as opposed to the recommended $1045.22, and that BSA would have to break even before they could use profits to benefit others. 

Don inquired as to their other funding sources; Julian replied that transport Skate Apparel, Eagle Rock Underground, some outside sources in the music industry, Programming Board, and the ICC.  Don recommended contacting the American Cancer Society.  Mike recommended funding part of the event through the Training budget; Kenna agreed that this would be feasible. 

Andrew moved to fund $2500, and Tilak seconded.  Santiago said that it seemed unfair to fund more than they had for Steez since Steez’s projected attendance was 1500.  Mike pointed out that this figure was unrealistic.  Ryan noted that Senate should support larger-scale events such as these, to which Mike added that the algorithm fails to function properly for events of this magnitude.  Santiago asked if this one meeting would end up cutting 2/3 of the Senate’s funds; Mike replied that this would only be for Senate Discretionary.  Tilak moved to end discussion.