Debates got heated Tuesday evening at the Student GovernmentAssociation Senate meeting when it was proposed to change a rule toallow an organization to receive travel funds more than once ayear.
The Senate voted 10-6-2 to not change the rule, but the proposalignited a heated debate over travel funding for studentorganizations and revising the Senate's bylaws.
"Right now the hot topic is travel funds," said SGAParliamentarian Sally Gates, journalism major.
"Some in the Senate feel that the current rules don't properlyaccommodate students, so we're looking to change that.
"In all honesty, I don't know how familiar with the bylaws theSenate really is. As a governing body, it's what we base ourlegislation on. We need to be more familiar with it."
Each group or individual is eligible for funding once per fiscalyear which begins July 1, according to the Student GovernmentAssociation Travel Funds Request Procedures and Guidelines.
Aaron Peevyhouse, the senator who proposed the change, is amember of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon. The fraternity hasalready received travel funding this fiscal year. Peevyhouse was amember of another group of students from the same fraternity whowanted additional travel funds but were denied.
"The student body is constantly changing," Gates said. "You haveto have a set of bylaws in place that are properly updated."
Gates said the bylaws have been revised recently, but no copieswere made, so the current bylaws haven't been revised since1997.
"The Senate needs to be familiar with its existing bylaws," saidSGA advisor William Porter, assistant vice president for StudentLife.
"They have acknowledged that, and the SGA leadership is going tobe sure the senators have that information. From there, it will bedetermined if the bylaws need to be reviewed and revisionsconsidered."
As for the travel fund issue, Porter said there have always beena number of restrictions on students receiving funds for travel,and students are regularly turned down.
"There is no guarantee if the Senate will revise the bylaws ornot," said senior Will Hampton, SGA senator and political sciencemajor. "Either the Senate or a judicial committee will go throughthe bylaws line by line to see if we need to make changes."
Hampton said that the reason the SGA members aren't as familiarwith the bylaws is is because the SGA has been working as anexternal organization for the past few years.
"We've been more open and because of that, we've accomplishedmore student-wise," Hampton said. "At the same, we're not as goodknowing how to work internally. The better we know our own rules,the better they can work."
Work on bylaw revision could begin as early as the next time theSenate meets.
"Our purpose is to serve students," Gates said. "We can't dothat properly if we don't keep up to date with our own rules."
