Senate officials approve budgets, justices
Student government senators approved slightly more than $41,000 for nine student organizations at last week’s meeting. The group also officially named two associate justices, Michael Perkins and Rebecca Imbolt.
By far, the three organizations that received the largest funding were the Graduate Student Association ($14,710), Rowdy Rams ($9,960) and Graduate Artists Association ($9,813).
Home >
Senate officials approve budgets, justices
Nine VCU student organizations receive funding
By Chelsea Clubb
Student government senators approved slightly more than $41,000 for nine student organizations at last week’s meeting. The group also officially named two associate justices, Michael Perkins and Rebecca Imbolt.
By far, the three organizations that received the largest funding were the Graduate Student Association ($14,710), Rowdy Rams ($9,960) and Graduate Artists Association ($9,813). The other six organizations included Black Caucus 2, VCU Freethinkers, SGA Executive, New Light Campus Ministry, Pre-Physical Therapy Club and P R Student Society of America.
Sen. Nusrat G. Chowdhury of the College of Humanities and Sciences and SGA’s director of communication said she supported the appropriations committee’s recommendations.
"I’ve been with the Senate for long enough to have trust (in) the appropriations committee," Chowdhury said, adding that she trusts the committee’s judgment since its members spend hours every Friday considering these bills.
Another senator, Charlie Rong also of the College of Humanities and Sciences, had a similar opinion to Chowdhury.
"The appropriations work from 2 (p.m.) sometimes all the way (until) night, at 10 o’clock at night to give us the bills for us to see before the meetings to see if we agree," Rong said. "And if we have any problems with the bill we, you know, we can bring it up in Senate as a lot of senators often do."
Budgets approved by Student Senate
| Organization | $ Requested | $ Funded |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate Student Association | $19,050 | $14,710 |
| Black Caucus 2 | $15,415 | $1,700 |
| VCU Freethinkers | $1,399 | $1,099 |
| SGA Executive | $500 | $300 |
| New Light Campus Ministry | $494 | $494 |
| Pre-Physical Therapy Club | $309 | $309 |
| Graduate Artists Association | $12,744 | $9,813 |
| P R Student Society of America | $5,243 | $2,836 |
| Rowdy Rams | $11,830 | $11,830 |
| Total | $66,984 | $41,221 |
In addition, Rong said that he trusts the appropriations committee’s consensus.
"So I trust their decision unless I personally have a problem with it and then we have the ability to bring that up in Senate."
In regards to the individuals that were approved for the associate justice position, after considerable discussion, the two candidates who were present at the meeting were chosen. The first candidate was Perkins and the second was Imbolt.
Chowdhury said that last year’s candidates were more qualified than this year’s candidates.
"Last year, I felt that we had much better candidates than this year, but as Eddie (O’Leary, SGA President) has told us, there were 27 of them who had tried out for the two positions and only two had come from the Senate."
At the close of the meeting, Chowdhury had a positive opinion of the candidates.
"By the end of the discussions and the questionnaire sessions, they really were the two right people," she said.
Rong said the appropriations committee did not have an equal perspective on the candidates and he used that analysis as well as the discussion to form his own opinion.
"The appointments committee actually did not agree on one of the two that were approved," Rong said, "so knowing that, I-you know-listened to their answers to all the questions that were asked during the Senate and I personally felt that they did a really good job answering the questions."
