BY COURTNEY CAVANAUGH AND KASSY LOCHHEAD
STAFF WRITERS
Students for Life, the Anscombe Society and Nurse2Nurse all presented bills at the weekly Student Government meeting Sept. 30.
Students for Life requested the reallocation of $125 from its counseling materials fund to purchase 160 hand warmers to be used during clinic outreach. The club has leftover pamphlets from last year, and no additional materials are needed. Since the harsh winter weather can sometimes deter students from volunteering, the club would like to provide hand warmers in an attempt to draw a larger crowd.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Andrea Moury, was met with much opposition.
“We (Student Government) don’t usually spend money on things that cannot be used again, aside from food and drinks. The money would be better spent elsewhere,” said Sen. Samantha Martinez.
Sen. Sarah Sperduto and Sen. Daniel Smith agreed, concluding that it is not Student Government’s responsibility to keep students comfortable when they are making a voluntary sacrifice. In the end, Fall Senate Bill #21 was struck down.
Students for Life also requested that $195 be reallocated from the September Club Magazine #1 to the October issue and that $195 be reallocated from the second September issue to the November issue. Sperduto voiced her support for the bill, noting that no new money would be allocated. Fall Senate Bill #19, sponsored by Moury, was passed.
The magazines will not be printed until October and November. One hundred and twenty five copies of each month’s issues will be printed and distributed throughout campus.
In another bill sponsored by Moury, Students for Life requested the reallocation of remaining funds from their info night that never took place. The remaining $50 would be used to purchase stamps to mail letters to senators. Fall Senate Bill #20 was passed.
The final bill for Students for Life moved to reallocate $42 from its September community outreach social to the November social instead. These funds have already been approved; the only change is the date. An unnamed pro-life movie will be played during the social to inspire students to defend life. Fall Senate Bill #22, again sponsored by Moury, was passed.
The Anscombe Society sought the allocation of $601.94 to fund scholarships for the Love and Fidelity Network Conference to take place over fall break at Princeton University in New Jersey.
The club was only allotted $200 at the beginning of the semester. This amount was not nearly much as in years past and is less than many other clubs. These scholarships would reduce the price per student for the entire weekend, including food, housing, speakers and events. Fall Senate Bill #23, sponsored by Martinez, was passed.
Nurse2Nurse presented a request to allocate $75 for its ice cream social, which was held Oct. 7. This social provides an opportunity to kick off the school year by welcoming the new sophomore class with the other students in the program. While the Student Government typically does not support academic clubs financially, it has historically supported Nurse2Nurse, at least once per semester for a social.
Smith spoke in support of the bill saying, “I think this bill falls within the parameters of our responsibility, as the Student Government, to help students prepare to join the workforce.” Fall Senate Bill #24, sponsored by Martinez, was passed unanimously.
In addition to the discussion and passing of bills, several senators were also sworn into office.