By Annika Cline and Connor Radnovich
The Downtown Senate allocated more than a fourth of its remaining funds for the year on Friday, with the vast majority of the newly distributed money going to the government itself.
The $15,000 given by the Downtown student government to itself is taken from student fees. This amount is on top of the $90,000 operational budget it received from ASU and the $15,500 of student fee money it has already taken to pay for the New York Times on campus.
Specific ways the government will spend its newly acquired funds were provided, but officials said the money will primarily be used for helping other campus organizations pay for campus events. One program the money will definitely be used for is the Gameday Initiative.
“All that money is going back to students,” Downtown President Joseph Grossman assured.
The Downtown student government is a student organization, and any organization on campus that requests funds from the government must fill out line-item lists and other documentation detailing what the money will be used for.
No such paperwork was submitted for the government’s request, but it passed nonetheless.
A couple of students attending the Senate meeting were allowed to speak about their concerns regarding how the government would spend the money and the apparent lack of transparency surrounding the request.
“They ask each organization to come up with a detailed plan,” said public service and policy sophomore Albina Hidic after the meeting. “I think it’s just unfair that they have … a double standard.”
Hidic applied to be a senator from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College in the spring but was not confirmed by the Senate.
In order to combat the transparency concerns the senate passed a stipulation with the request — proposed by Senate Leader Zack Lindsay — that states the specific expenditures will be put online so students can see where their money went.
Last year’s government took student fee money as well but never made public what that money was used for.
Most of Friday’s meeting was spent debating the Public Relation Student Society of America’s request for $4,800 to go to an international public relations conference in Orlando.
Senators Cecilio Porras and Joey Amonett tried to amend the request three times – to $3,800, $4,000 and $3,600 – before the amount was finally amended to $4,200 and passed on an 8-4 vote.
Some senators were concerned about the per-student funding for trips. They want to set a fair precedent — which has been around $600 per student this year — while saving enough money for other organizations on campus.
“(T)he Senate and I … have to take into consideration our financial constraints and our obligation to the other organizations of DPC,” Porras said in an email on Sunday.
The other funding requests were wrapped up relatively quickly.
The Parks and Recreation Student Association receiving a total of $590 for a film viewing, travel expenses, and t-shirts, with the Senate reducing their original requests that totaled $790.
The Student Nurses’ Association was given $352.52, ASU Mindfulness received $106.57 and the College Council of Nursing Students got $400 — $45 less than their original request.
M.E.Ch.A. de ASU Centro’s request for more than $19,000 was postponed by the Senate because senators felt not enough detail was provided by the organization in their request.
The $20,649.09 allocated at Friday’s meeting leaves the Downtown government with only $56,781.64 for the rest of the year.
Director of Finance Sam Tongue said he was concerned about running short of funds and said there would be little, if any, money left over at the end of the year.
“At the rate we’re spending money, it’s going to be gone,” Tongue said.
However, Tongue said the money that has been allocated is being doled out responsibly and with proper questioning by the Senate.
This Senate meeting was the first for the eight senators who joined the Senate on Sept. 9. Officials commented after the meeting about how the senators were involved throughout and seemed to be voting with their constituents in mind.
“They’re just as much a part of this (senate) as the students who have been here since the beginning,” Grossman said.
Contact the reporters at ascline1@asu.edu and connor.radnovich@asu.edu
