President's plea goes unheard |
Mike Terry |
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Strong opposition by student government President Phil Gersman was not enough to stop the senate from approving a funding request for the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity's "Dedication to Women" on Thursday, Nov. 30. The program focuses on pampering the women on campus for a day. According to Gersman, he has never supported the event. "This is not a good use of student fee dollars," he said. "We have to exercise a certain sense of fiscal management. I don't think this is fiscally responsible." Senator Donald Harris, who is also the fraternity's president, disagreed with Gersman's comments. "This program has had nothing but success," he said. "I don't know why you would have a problem with such an event." Out of the total $1,120 originally requested by Alpha Phi Alpha, $500 was to be spent on flowers and decorations, an amount Gersman felt should have been dropped significantly. "You would get my support in this program if you helped lower the cost," he said. "You are not being creative enough." Gersman said the fraternity used only $769 of $1,120 the senate approved for last year's event. According to Jimmel Chambers, the founder's chair for Alpha Phi Alpha, the budget was increased to satisfy customer demand from previous years. The request passed by a 10-1-1 vote after the fraternity dropped its budget to $870. Michelle Davis was the only senator to vote against funding, while Harris abstained from the vote. Harris also abstained from his vote on his fraternity's second request of $1,900 for their 94th Annual Founder's Week Celebration. The request passed by an 11-0-1 vote. Other requests given approval were a travel request for $425 by the National Student Speech, Language, and Hearing Association for the American Speech and Hearing Association, and a program request of $4,850 by the Greek Council for "Better Grades in Less Time." Omega Psi Phi's request of $1,200 for a Que-Pollo talent show passed by a 7-3-2 vote after it was tabled at the senate meeting two weeks earlier. Senators Jinnifer Calabrese, Alyssa Gonterman and Bobby Harris voted against the program, while senators A.J. Harshbarger and Radiance Pitts abstained. Five out of 10 proposed amendments were also made to the student government constitution before time constraints forced the senate to postpone the discussion until the next meeting. Among the changes given unanimous approval were the removal of a clause that required the senate to consist of at least one representative from the East St. Louis Center and one from the School of Dental Medicine at the Alton Campus. The amendments also changed quorum rules for the senate during summer semesters from the majority to four, specified qualifications to be a candidate as a senator and added "promote campus life" to the list of senatorial job duties. These were also given unanimous approval. Donald Harris was the only senator to vote against an amendment allowing senators to conduct meetings over the summer without being enrolled in summer classes. The amendment passed by an 11-1 vote. The senate will review the remaining amendments at the next meeting on Friday, Oct. 20 in the Goshen Lounge of the Morris University Center. | |