Author: Peter Indall
Following the announcement of Senior Class Senator Ken Smutny’s resignation and installation of Jimmy Gillan as his proxy, ASOC President Ryan Bowen made the position official as the Senate voted its approval. Occidental’s constitution provides rules for the procedure of the replacement of a Senator before the end of his or her term. Usually, the process entails submitting an application and an in-person interview, but in this case, neither occurred. However, the Senate By-Laws allow that if fewer than 10 weeks remain in a Senator’s term, the President may appoint an individual to serve the remainder of the term.
The next item of business concerned proposed amends to the ASOC government constitution. The first dealt with the General Assembly and its efficiency. The amendment sought to change the constitution so that all resolutions must be voted on within two meetings. The measure, proposed to minimize red tape, hopes to reduce the number of issues that never receive attention and are allowed to remain unresolved.
The second amendment sought to rectify the discrepancy between the constitution and by-laws concerning the replacement of a Senator after his or her resignation. This amendment would grant the President the authority to appoint an individual to serve the remainder of the term with the input of the Senate, rather than have to go through the process of applications and interviews. Both amendments passed.
The main subject of the meeting concerned the approval of next year’s Student Services and Club Service budget. The budget, which totals more than $500,000 annually, supports nearly all student organizations on campus. Representatives for multiple groups attended the meeting to provide input on their share of the budget.
Within the budget, certain organizations receive funds based on a different formula than others. The Occidental Weekly and KOXY receive funds based on a percentage of the Student Service Fees collected by the school. In 2007-2008, these fees ran $131 per semester, but next school year they will rise to $135. Based on the formula, the newspaper receives 13 percent and the radio station 8 percent of those fees annually, amounting to a combined $100,000. Other student groups such as La Encina and Club Sports garner a set amount per year and came to the meeting either to settle for the amount they received in the proposed budget or argue for more funds.
The budget passed relatively free from comment. Most clubs proposed smaller budgets based on reducing costs, such as with Programming Board scaling back some of its major activities.
Club Sports presented an argument for additional funds, as on average each sport costs $6,000 per year. Some teams, such as lacrosse, said they resort to charging a $400 fee to supplement the cost, becoming inaccessible to some students. The Senate agreed to offer a portion of the projected $2,232 budget surplus to provide some assistance to Club Sports. With the budget reviewed, the next step will be its presentation to the Board of Trustees within the next few weeks for final approval.
After the representatives of the various student organizations left, the Senate discussed unfinished business. Bowen presented a proposal for the Multicultural History Project, a booklet to be presented to first-year students during orientation as part of the Occidental’s commitment to multiculturalism. Bowen hopes to use the remainder of the ASOC discretionary fund, some $3,485, not only for the printing of the booklets, but $1,000 put aside to host a reception for the presentation of the booklet.
Sophomore Senator Andrew DeBlock found it “ostentatious to allocate $1,000 for a bash to celebrate our own project . . . an attitude of we have all this money so let’s just spend it.” Additionally, Junior Senator Mike Myers found parts of the proposal “a little excessive.”
Bowen defended his proposal, saying the entire student body would be invited and he would provide a more detailed budget at the next meeting.
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