Senators debated an act to update appropriation funds to student organizations and discussed the $6000 spent on the Student Body Officer retreat during this week’s Student Senate meeting.
Student Body Treasurer Molly Mueller, a fourth-year studying political science and interdisciplinary studies, provided updates on the Student Body Officer Retreat, where $6000 was spent on a trip to Asheville in August for seven SBOs over four days.
Mueller explained that the $6000 spent at the retreat came from the 97th Student Government session budget and not the 98th session budget. Mueller said that this money was set aside in the 97th session budget for the 98th session officers to go on a retreat in May 2018.
According to Mueller, the retreat got pushed to August. The money planned for the May retreat that came from the 97th budget was set aside as excess. Mueller said Student Involvement Director Jessica Murphy rerouted the money for the August retreat to come from the 97th budget excess.
A motion to fast-track the Appropriations Addendum Act was debated within Senate. The bill was written to update appropriations so that student organizations that were not renewed as registered student organizations with Student Involvement by Nov. 1 would have the appropriation money allocated to them in Appropriations Bill 24 returned.
The bill states that the Division of Academic and Student Affairs asked for official documentation from Senate, which was why the bill was created. The bill reads:
“The DASA Business Office has requested documentation that these 43 organizations will no longer receive Appropriations funding in the Fall Break 2018-Spring Break 2019 Appropriations cycle.”
After voting to go into Committee of the Whole to discuss the bill, Senate entered into a period of debate and voting about what to do in regards of the bill.
It was voted by Senate that Student Body President Jess Errico, Student Senate President Adam Schmidt and Student Body Treasurer Molly Mueller send a joint statement to the DASA Business Office saying that they recognize they can not give funding to the student organizations because they were not registered. This will act as the requested documentation.
Senate voted to not consider the bill for fast-track of legislation. The bill will be read in first-reading at the next Senate meeting unless it is withdrawn by Mueller.
The Examination Policy Revision Act was passed by Senate.
Senate also heard from Dr. Julie Casani, director of NC State Student Health about the logistics for the Centennial Campus Student Healthcare Center, which opened after Fall Break. The healthcare center on Centennial is open five days a week.
According to Casani, insurance rates for Student Blue have gone up, which is negotiated with Student Blue. The cost of graduate student insurance offered by NC State has also gone up, Casani said, due to changes in graduate student demographics. Student Health has input into insurance rates for students, but it has no control over the final rates.
Senate voted to approve the appointment of Jeremy Hoppe, a graduate student studying chemistry, to a Senate seat representing Graduate and Lifelong Education.
Senator Nicole Teague, a third-year studying business administration representing the Poole College of Management, was appointed to Senate Historian.
The next Senate meeting will be Nov. 28 in room 4140 of Talley Student Union.
