Last week, Student Government [SG] Senate added a committee on budgetary review to its bureaucracy.
This new move is intended to upgrade the process by which student organizations request event funding from Senate.
The committee will review funding requests from organizations using Senate guidelines for appropriations and make recommendations regarding the bill.
The new committee is intended to reduce the amount of time and redundant debate spent in Senate meetings over monetary requests, since members of the budgetary review will now perform many of the preliminary checks that previously have been done during meetings.
Senate is divided over whether its primary responsibility is to pass legislation assisting the student body or to review and pass requests for student organizations that need additional funds for special events.
Also during the meeting, a bill was passed supporting the addition of a Hindi language class to the UM’s course offerings.
South Asian students on campus represent 3.5 percent of the total student body, and currently there is no such class focusing on South Asia.
Signatures for the cause had already been collected from students.
Promoters of the bill strongly believe the class would improve cultural ties and fulfill a business and governmental demand for people with a command of the Hindi language and culture.
Senate allocated $350 to the African Student Union for Afrocentria and $500 to the Caribbean Students’ Association for Caribbean Awareness Week.
In other news, Billy Bludgus was ratified as Senior Senator – which continues a trend for this semester’s SG presidential candidates to take on other visible roles on campus.
Carlos Echeverri was appointed SG Senate Parliamentarian, Don Donelson has become a frequent Hurricane writer, Scott Wacholtz is head of the new Library Board for the executive branch of SG and Chris Clark is going to be a Stanford RA next semester.
For more information visit the SG website at www.miami.edu/sg.
Amy S. Lawrence can be contacted at aslawrence@umiami.edu.