By Audrey Reed
Staff Writer
All of the money in the Student Government Philanthropy Fund has been given to charitable organizations for the semester.
Togas for Turkeys, a fundraiser sponsored by Rho and DeBell halls, received the remaining balance in the fund of $276.85.
Though the group, represented by Katie Plummer, initially asked for 30 percent of the philanthropy fund, Vice President Giuseppe Nespoli made a friendly amendment for Plummer to resolve for the entire fund.
In accordance with bylaws, the senate voted unanimously to give the rest of the money in the philanthropy fund to Togas for Turkeys.
Two other groups, the Spiritual Life Advisor program and the Sports Medicine Club, requested money, but because neither were charities, they received money from the General Fund.
The SLA program asked for funds to provide books used at residence hall Bible studies and the Sports Medicine Club wanted funds to offset costs from the American College of Sports Medicine Conference they annually attend.
The SLA program was allocated $240, while the Sports Medicine Club’s request was debated among senators and the presenter, Mary Khalili. When this resolution was heard, $560 was left in the general fund and the club got 30 percent of that money, which is $168.
Before that was passed, two amendments were offered to give the Sports Medicine Club more than 30 percent of the fund.
Both of these were accepted by Khalili but not passed unanimously by the senate.
The first was to give the group $300 and the second was to give them $240.
The debate on both amendments was initiated by junior senator Steve Lyle, who said he thought the money could be used to reach more students while, if allocated as corrected, this money would only go to the 12 students attending the conference.
“I wanted to make sure that we knew what we were doing to give 30 percent to 12 students,” he said. “What I wanted to see them do was raise funds from other places. But, it’s not an unworthy cause.”
After all the resolutions were heard, Treasurer Amie Shaw asked each class and committee to assess their budget and to report any funds that will not be spent before the semester is over so plans can be made for next semester.
“It was really to ensure that each class and committee had time to plan out their events for November,” she said. “We have about a month left, and I think it is important to reevaluate so that we make sure we are spending effectively.”
November 14, 2002