USG Senate allocates last funds for year at meeting

The Undergraduate Student Government Senate allocated the last of its funding for the current academic year at its meeting Tuesday evening in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. The Senate granted $1,300 toward a second annual Wheelchair Basketball Tournament later this semester. The Senate also gave $700 toward the Concerts Committee.

The 2015 tournament was organized by Zack Wentz, a sophomore majoring in economics, and sponsored by USC Trojan Pride in conjunction with USG University Affairs Committee and Wellness Affairs Committee to bring awareness to disability accessibility on campus. Wentz requested funds from the Senate after Trojan Pride was unable to fund the tournament for the second year.

Sen. Eric Dubbury noted the time-sensitive nature of the event, which took place in April last year.

“I think it’s smart to give most of the money now because it’s time sensitive,” Dubbury said, “I don’t want to put the event at risk.”

All Senators voted to fund $1,300 for the upcoming Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, which was decreased from the initial $1,500 request.

The decision left around $2,200 for other funding requests. The dearth of funds proved troubling for Concerts Committee representative, Caitlin Harriford, who requested $3,000 during last week’s Senate meeting, for upcoming Concerts Committee events. Senate members suggested a further delay before voting on the funding request, which would delay the vote two weeks after it was first requested.

“You could need more money or you could need less money,”  Sen. Jacob Ellenhorn said. “And before we make a decision, we need to know how much money you’re going to get from the other committees.”

Harriford was concerned with the second suspension of the vote and reiterated her request from the previous week.

“In our presentation from last week, we expressed that [regardless of] the amount you give us, it’s good to know, because we’re sitting on offers and setting up production. I’m trying to expedite this process,” Harriford said.

Sen. Giuseppe Robalino questioned the necessity of the request, and if Concerts Committee could locate funds elsewhere, considering the size of the $3,000 request.

“It’s a difficult thing to think about, for me at least, speaking personally because we are the giver of last resort here,” Robalino said. “I’d prefer to hear back from exceptional funding before we exhaust the last money that USG has. So I’m partial to tabling it.”

Sen. Chris Fong proposed an initial funding of $500 to give Concerts Committee a temporary figure to work with, which the Senate agreed was the best manner to proceed.

“It’s not about the amount, but the transparency,” Fong said.

USG Sen. Sabrina Enriquez echoed Fong’s statement.

“We can give X amount today, and if you need more, you can get back to us,” Enriquez said.

Senate members settled on a figure of $700 to grant to Concerts Committee, instead of the initial $3,000 requested.