Marking a new step toward publicizing the financial transactions of Associated Student Government, a condensed list of recent ASG costs and income was included in the agenda distributed to all those present at Wednesday night’s Senate meeting.
In an unprecedented move, Treasurer Ivy LeTourneau included the spending account in her weekly announcements, that almost all members of ASG’s executive board routinely make. When she became treasurer on April 5, she found an ASG account suffering from more than a month of neglect, LeTourneau said.
“In the past the relationship between the ASG treasurer and the Senate has not been the best,” said LeTourneau, a Weinberg freshman. “I want to do what it takes to move on from this time and shift the attention back to the work ASG is doing again.”
The list included both money ASG has received and spent. The income listed by LeTourneau totaled about $1,350 and came from student groups using the ASG office copier. The majority of the spending shown was on advertising for student groups, which ASG pays for, and the ASG lawyer.
About $299 in spending was listed under “Special Projects” — LeTourneau said it was an executive board dinner that happened during the last administration.
“For reasons I’m not sure of, my predecessor delayed making the actual transaction, leaving it for me to deal with during my first few days in office,” LeTourneau wrote in the agenda.
Later in the meeting, a constitutional amendment changing the selection process for student group senators was introduced by Executive Vice President Jay Schumacher. The amendment failed because it required two-thirds of the 68-person Senate roll to pass, and only 34 voted in favor of it. Sixteen senators abstained while four voted against the amendment.
Schumacher, a Communication sophomore, said he thought the result could have come from senators being “caught off guard” when the vote came up. Before the vote, three senators proposed an opposing amendment on student group senator selection which Schumacher said could have caused confusion.
“Looking back, I wish there had been more debate about ways to change the amendment I tried to author,” Schumacher said. “I tried to make it clear that this was something we needed to talk about.”
Foster-Walker Complex Sen. Eric Parker said he voted against Schumacher’s amendment because he thought student groups should directly choose their senators.
“I think that SAFB might have a conflict of interest in choosing senators,” said Parker, a Weinberg freshman.
Currently A- and B-status student group members can apply for one of 22 student group seats in the ASG Senate. The 12-person executive committee appoints the senators and then the Senate confirms them.
Schumacher’s bill would have created a Student Group Senator Selection Committee to take the place of the executive committee for choosing senators. The selection committee would have three executive committee members, three members of the Student Activities Finance Board, and the ASG president and rules chairperson.
Schumacher said the proposed bill was more fair since it involves SAFB and they deal with A-status groups. A-status group senators occupy 20 of the 22 seats available to student groups.
Schumacher said his amendment also failed because not enough senators attended the meeting. He said he was disappointed that his proposal failed, but that it isn’t devastating.
“I’m not upset because it comes back to my committee, but there’s a better way to do it,” Schumacher said.
The Daily’s Jordan Weissmann contributed to this report.
Reach Evan Hill at [email protected].
