With the semester coming to a close, the Student Association is preparing to allocate the extra funds it won in September and is heavily advertising its events for next semester, SA officials said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
The press conference was taped and will be aired on SATV's Channel 46 during finals week. Vice President Dela Yador said starting in the spring SA plans to hold and broadcast such press conferences either every week or once every two weeks.
"The E-board definitely feels this has been a very productive fall semester," Yador said to start, giving a rundown of what SA has accomplished so far.
On the subject of money distribution, Treasurer Jessica Dangler said because the enrollment figures for next semester aren't complete yet, SA doesn't know exactly how much extra money will be coming in and therefore cannot start the full allocation process.
"We've asked the directors of SA to present us with budgets and present us with a wish list of events they'd like to do," Dangler said.
Yador added the spring funds will mostly go towards restoring budgets to what they were at the start of the year. When SA has an entire year's worth of extra funds at its fingertips, only then will it work to expand its programming.
"First and foremost it will be to level off the cuts we had at the beginning of the year," he said.
Next semester SA's athletic trainer program will successfully start for club sports, but its plan for a Winter Fest to complement its Fall and Spring music festivals is looking like less of a reality.
"Right now," Yador said, "it's not feasibly financial for us. We are considering another SA party or a battle of the bands."
Yador highlighted SA's completed reforms with the Student-Wide Judiciary and a line of projects like the new Health Center slated for North Campus, a uniform Sub-Board fee, and events like the second annual Unity Jam.
Yador make it clear that when students come back from winter break, SA will be pushing its spring break contests, Nike clothing sales, and Love Your SA Day.
The night before the press conference, the SA Senate held its final meeting for the semester, during which time they made one club official and de-recognized three inactive clubs.
Having met fundraising requirements and raised its profile, Bangladeshi SA was welcomed to the SA family.
"We currently have more than 40 students," said Baha Uddi, Bangladeshi SA president. "We want to take Bangladeshi to an optimum level."
Uddi said his group required funds to expand its annual cultural night and increase Bangladeshi awareness throughout Buffalo.
"We want to make it a major event for the club every year," he told the Senate. "We also want to invite other schools and have a show beforehand next year."
After unanimously voting to officially recognize the club, the Senators allotted Bangladeshi SA $200. Coupled with the drop of Balkan SA, Italian SA and Persian SA, the Senate now has an extra $550 that can be allocated to new clubs throughout the year.
The Senate also took time to revisit the minutes of the previous Oct. 26 meeting to address a discrepancy regarding an issue with the finance committee. Although the problem lay with an error in the minutes, some Senators voiced disapproval over the previous vote for committee members.
"You can't go back on an issue a month after it's been voted on," said Senate Chair Mazin Kased.
The Senate also briefly touched on the recent parking proposal, which they had previously discussed but is largely an issue for the SA Assembly.
"The assembly decided that they feel the parking problem would be better alleviated by limiting residents who drive to parking in their residence halls," Burgio said.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
