Council Clippings: GSS fails Asha for Education bill

The Graduate Student Senate (GSS) met on Tuesday. Six bills were passed, one bill was failed, and one bill was tabled.

The first bill brought before the senate was the appointment for Graduate Student Senate. The bill was accepted by unanimous acclamation and passed.

The next bill brought before the senate was the joint allocation to the Student Center Programs Council.

The organization was asking for 30,000 dollars from the Prior Year Account to bring in a comedian for the Spring semester. The comedian they have tentatively booked is Lewis Black, who was on campus a few years ago. The bill passed the senate.

The next bill brought before the senate was the joint allocation to Asha for Education. The organization was asking for 670 dollars for marathon related items, including 30 team dri-fit jerseys and food and drink for the runners. The bill also asked for police fees for an event that took place in October. The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) recommended striking the police fees because it was a retroactive request.

The JFC also recommended striking the jerseys because they were related to a fundraising event, since the marathon will be a fundraiser. The JFC also recommended striking the food and drink because the SGA does not fund food or drink. The JFC's recommendation was to fund $0 of the bill.

Since a bill cannot be amended to read zero dollars, the senate passed a motion to strike the police fees and food from the bill, bringing the total to $360. The bill then failed the senate by a vote of 10 in favor and 14 opposed.

The next bill brought before the senate was the joint allocation to Women's Ultimate Frisbee Team. The organization was asking for $300 for tournament entry fees for the Mardi Gras tournament.

There was debate as to whether or not the event was partially funded in the organization's budget, so the bill was tabled until further information can be uncovered about the funding.

The next bill brought before the senate was the joint allocation to the Taiwanese American Student Association. The organization was asking for $369 for their 2007 Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association East Coast Conference. The bill was requesting travel expenses to the conference for seven people. The bill passed the senate.

The next bill brought before the senate was the joint allocation to the Chinese Student Association. The organization was asking for $1,348 for travel expenses for 20 people to attend the East Coast Asian American Student Union. The bill passed the senate.

The next bill brought before the senate was the joint allocation to the Wushu Club. The organization was asking for $554 for registration fees and travel expenses for seven people to attend 2007 Wushu Collegiates.

However, the organization's representative informed the senate that nine people would be attending the event.

The senate passed a motion to make a friendly amendment to the bill bringing the total to $816 to reflect the new number of members attending the event. The bill passed the senate.

The next bill brought before the senate was the joint resolution supporting to student regent. The bill had been postponed several weeks, but was brought before a vote and passed the senate.