At the September 15 Student Senate meeting, Senate passed two special allocation proposals amounting to nearly $3,600. In addition, $8,400 originally appropriated for the cancelled Danforth Lounge renovation was returned to Senate. Senators also made arrangements to fill seven senator vacancies, two in CFA, three in CIT, and two in HSS. 

The first allocation of new funds went to operational management expenses for this year's Navarti Dance.

"The Navarti Dance is an opportunity for CMU students to learn about Indian culture," said CIT junior Kirk Higgins, who was recently inducted as Funding and Recognition (F&R) Committee chairperson. There is a spending increase from last year's Navarti Dance, which involves intricate costumes and stick dancing, due to the chosen location of the Holiday Inn Select Ballroom instead of Rangos and the additional cost of buses to the Holiday Inn. This allocation from Student Senate covers entertainment, decorations, and advertising. 

After much argument and confusion in the Senate, Dance Marathon received $3,010 in funding, a huge increase over last year's budget.

Last year, over 300 students attended the charity event, which raises money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Because of its intense popularity, the event was moved to the Wiegand Gym this year in order to make room for the additional people attending.

SCS junior Joseph Arasin protested vehemently against the funding, at one point contending, "We don't want students to be compelled to give money to charity [through their Student Activities Fee]."

Several other Senators initially sided with Arasin, expressing concerns about the increased registration fee for Dance Marathon and Senate policy regarding direct charitable donations. Bei Yang, an ETC Master's student and Dance Marathon coordinator, explained that the increase in funding had more to do with location than anything else.

"The only choice was to hold it in the gym," said Yang.

Some senators came to Dance Marathon's defense, especially CFA senior Trevor Clark, who cleared up questions by stating several times that "the increase [in requested funds] came directly from the fact that they were moved to the gym involuntarily." Dance Marathon was also explained to be free to observers, with a donation being voluntary, though preferred, which cleared the way for a unanimous vote to approve the funds. 

The vacancies on Senate will be filled with elections taking place on September 29. Students from each of the colleges with vacancies are encouraged to participate. Petitions for candidacy can be found online at the Student Senate website (http://www.stusen.org/id/petition.pdf) or at the Information Desk in the University Center. Petitions require 25 signatures from undergraduate students within the college under which the candidate is filing. 

 talkback to the pulse