The Student Association Senate unanimously passed next year’s allocations bill Wednesday, approving specific funding for hundreds of events in an hour-long meeting.
The meeting marked the first time the SA approved funds based how much each event would cost, but no senators questioned any event’s allocation. Each of the 38 senators were given 300-page booklets filled with each line-item cost that made up about $900,000 in funding.
“It was really weird we didn’t do line item, quite frankly. It was a no-brainer for other schools in our market basket,” Counihan said.
After finance committee members pushed other senators to scrutinize each funding decision last week, there was little debate on the bill. In the past, allocations meetings have taken several hours.
The SA also passed an amendment that will allow student organizations to use money in already approved line-item costs for other purposes, allowing groups to continue paying for spontaneous events throughout the year.
The finance committee awarded a total of $904,764 to roughly 300 organizations, leaving $165,506 available for co-sponsorships next year.
The committee awarded an average of $3,809 to each group, about 30 percent more than what groups received two years ago. Just three organizations that submitted applications received less than $100, compared to a dozen organizations last year.
