The Student Association Senate voted not to give a stipend to the Student-Wide Judiciary (SWJ) Chief Justice and approved grants for Asian American Student Union (AASU) and Indonesian SA. It also discussed seven constitutional amendments - passing six and tabling one.
It was the third meeting of the fall semester and held on Feb. 23.
The Senate went into executive session to discuss the stipend for the SWJ Chief Justice Twiesha Vachhrajani. The topic was tabled at the last senate meeting.
Senators decided the Chief Justice would receive a zero dollar stipend for the rest of the school year.
The Senate discussed seven constitutional amendments. Six of the amendments were passed unanimously and one was tabled.
The first amendment mandates decisions for appointments and removals to require two of the three SA officers - one of whom must be the president.
The second allows for the term for SA officers to run until the last day of the following spring semester.
The third dismissed the distinction between on-campus and off-campus senators, making it open for any amount of either type of student.
The fourth amendment was tabled and discusses giving the SA officers more internal controls over financial, employment and club policies.
The fifth amendment makes it clear that vacancy officer elections must be made during the fall or spring semesters when most of the student body is present.
The sixth clarified that the SWJ would not be able to make any ruling that contradicts with university or state policies.
The seventh amendment allows organizations to submit a line transfer or budgetary change directly to the SA treasurer who will then submit it to the senate.
The Senate agreed to give AASU $942.50 from the Co-sponsorship line for its upcoming guest speaker event. The event will host Just Kidding Films, an independent filmmaking group on YouTube focused on breaking Asian American stereotypes.
The event will be partnered with Japanese Student Association. It will include a meet and greet session and a film showcase with a question and answer portion.
AASU initially asked for a $1,000 grant to help cover the expenses for the event.
The Senate decided to give Indonesian SA a grant of $1,000 from the New and Innovative line to help cover travel expenses to a Permias East Coast Championship event in New York City. The event consists of seven Permias groups from around the country and they will compete in soccer and basketball.
Indonesian SA asked the Senate for a grant of $2,688 for the trip.
Teach for America, an organization dedicated to bringing teachers to low-income communities around the country, gave a presentation at the beginning of the meeting.
The next senate meeting will be held on Mar. 9 at 6 p.m. in 250 Student Union.
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