Senate Spends 22 Percent of Annual Budget in First Month
Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College
By Sarah Hinck, Contributing Writer
The fifth Student Senate meeting of the 2017-2018 school year began with free pizza, but it quickly proceeded to more pressing agenda items, namely discussion of budget requests and procedures.
College clubs are presently clamoring to obtain a slice of this year’s collective Senate budget of $91,505, 22% of which has already been allotted.
Last year, Senate was forced to withdrawal $23,000 from its rollover account, which is essentially a safety net, something it hopes to avoid doing extensively this year.
Senate Treasurer and Budget Management Committee Chairperson Sarah Berkowitz emphasized that while the senate wants to supply each club with its desired budget, they must be wise as well as conservative in order to ensure that they do not spend more than the allocated amount.
“We can’t say yes to everything, and there are going to be some things that we just aren’t going to be able to do… if we continue down this route (of unsustainable spending), we are going to allot way more money that we have again,” Berkowitz said.
With this in mind, clubs will have to be very convincing as they propose their budgets. The next Student Senate meeting on October 16, 2017, will certainly be interesting as many clubs’ budgets will be up for approval. Budget requests on the table for next week include:
- Latin American Student Association – $2,140.13
- Model UN – $4,740.34
- 26th Pennsylvania College Guard – $1,440
- Pre-Vet Club – $1,475.54
- Fly Fishing Club – $1,138.50
- Black Student Union- $1,737.75
Aside from the discussion regarding this year’s budget, there were three requests for recognition at this week’s meeting.
The three requests were from the Order of the Bullet, Fed Challenge Club, and from the Economic Research Club. All three requests were approved.
A concern was raised at the meeting that tables in the College Union Building are no longer an effective marketing tool for clubs given reduced foot traffic due to construction and closure of the back entrance.
The Student Senate will reconvene on October 16, 2017.
