Around 30 students gathered to attend the Student Senate\u2019s meeting on Tuesday to listen to senators discuss allocation funds, club communication and senator attendance. This included whether Choral Arts and Wind Ensemble would lose funding after using Senate allocated funds to purchase merchandise last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Funding cuts from Lehigh Choral Arts and the Wind Ensemble from Sept. 1<\/a> after the two organizations were unable to have their budgets voted on since the financial reports weren\u2019t submitted in time.<\/p>\n Both organizations ultimately received the full amount they requested after senators deliberated on whether the groups should be penalized for violating bylaws. Senators discussed whether the rules had been adequately communicated and if the Senate has consistently enforced their merchandise policy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Senate Vice President Mariana Rold\u00e1n, \u201828, said during the meeting that cuts to Senate sponsored organizations are made with the intention to add more money to the allocations pool for Senate recognized clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey (the cuts) were made so that other organizations could have a fair chance at funding their own clubs and their own events,\u201d Rold\u00e1n said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In response to confusion about bylaws, the Senate also passed a bill requiring bylaws be explained to clubs by the allocations and audits committee, and also passed a bill adding attendance as a factor in weekly allocations funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Senate passed a bill to give all sponsored organizations their annual allocation this academic year. Normally senate sponsored organizations receive funding on a semesterly basis.<\/p>\n Senate restores funding for Choral Arts, Wind Ensemble\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, the Senate reviewed allocations for the 21 sponsored organizations that receive funding on a semesterly basis. Five of the seven organizations being voted on were slated to receive the same amount of funding they requested, but choral arts and wind ensemble were not.<\/p>\n The other five sponsored organizations\u00a0 that received funding include the Society of Spanish Professional Engineers, Southeast Asia at Lehigh, Asian Cultural Society, Lehigh Philharmonic University Orchestra and Jazz Ensembles.<\/p>\n After spending Senate funds on merchandise last year, Choral Arts was initially slated to receive $33,345, a $655 decrease from its $34,000 allocation last year at Tuesday\u2019s meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wind Ensemble was expected to receive $6,400, down from $7,750.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Senate ultimately maintained Choral Arts\u2019 funding and Wind Ensemble\u2019s funding in a 21-11 vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Choral Arts spent around $600 on t-shirts members wore during an international concert trip in May. During the meeting, senators questioned each other and the executive board as to if the organization knew the purchase violated Senate rules, and if reducing funding was an appropriate response.\u00a0<\/p>\n Senators also raised questions about how clearly the Senate communicates its bylaws to student organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n As of Wednesday, Senate bylaws are more than 50 pages long and haven\u2019t been updated on the Senate website since May 2023, according to statements made by senators during the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Senate President Drew Smith, \u201827, said after the meeting he could not confirm whether the online bylaws were outdated but said the Senate was working to update its website.\u00a0<\/p>\n The website<\/a> has since been updated.<\/p>\n Senators also said the merchandise rule was not communicated through Lead LU, a required training for club leaders, and wasn\u2019t shared with student leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith later told The Brown and White that this year\u2019s allocations and audit committee considered bylaw violations when determining sponsored organization funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the Senate has a responsibility to enforce its governing documents, and acknowledged the rules haven\u2019t always been clearly communicated.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are trying to be better about that in every way we can,\u201d Smith said in regards to previous Senates not enforcing the\u00a0 bylaws in general, including the ones about merchandise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Senator Bryn Kidd, \u201829, questioned whether student organizations could be held responsible for bylaw violations when the rules had not been clearly communicated.<\/p>\n \u201cDo they even know we have bylaws?\u201d Kidd said during the meeting. \u201cI just feel like it hasn\u2019t been communicated clear enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Weston Hochhauser, \u201829, the Senate\u2019s new deputy treasurer, disagreed, and said as adults, student organization leaders are responsible for understanding the rules governing their funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n