Written by Stephen Cavallaro & Joe Adgie

Despite maintaining a budget of over $17,500, SGA adhered to the warnings of fellow senators during a meeting on March 4.

It happened after the RAs of Centennial Hall requested $1,000 for food for an upcoming carnival, despite already having a budget for activities.

Senator Yannick Gill discussed the danger of allocating funds for fun.

“There haven’t been that many events this year, and I’m pro-events right now, but I’m not pro-wasting money,” Gill said. “They do have a budget, and this is something they campaigned for, and secondly, on a good day, they might get about 50 people.”

Gill also explained the consequences of approving the proposal.

“You have to think about the idea of audit,” Gill said. “Clubs that are using money on a lot of things outside of their own budget are losing funds, and why? [VSU] is looking through to see where we can save money. If they audit us to see where we’re spending money on, and it’s nothing but food, they’ll ask why we’re spending so much money towards this.”

After several drawn out recounts, the notion to allocate $750 towards food for the carnival was not approved.

Ryan Baerwalde, SGA President, explained the organization’s viewpoint after the motion was rejected.

“Our job is not to provide funds for different carnivals and cookouts,” Baerwalde said, “Our job is to better VSU.”

By comparison, another group received $500, for an event called “March Madness,” hosted by the Distinguished Women of Excellence, a new organization on campus that lacks a budget. Gill explained that this event received money as it is for the betterment of women, while Centennial was just putting on a fun event.

NOTES:

William Mast was voted in as senator.
Scott Doner, VSUPD director, made an appearance, speaking about the services offered to students by the police.
Discussions also involved Relay for Life and SGA Week.