By: Gerard Albert III/Editor-In-Chief
The senate of the Student Government Council at Modesto Maidique Campus voted overwhelmingly, Monday, to add more accountability to their funding process.
Graduate senator Angel Algarin penned a bill to increase contingency funding oversight after University President Mark B. Rosenberg asked SGC-MMC President Sabrina Leeloo Rosell last month for $4,000 to fund a tailgate party.
This ask is not uncommon, or even a huge chunk of the almost $400,000 that sits in SGA’s contingency fund, made up of unused activity and service fees from previous years. The fund is usually used for emergencies, but there is minimal legislation as to what constitutes an emergency.
In the past, the fund has been used to help pay for a vigil for the victims of the FIU bridge collapse and tailgate activities. Last year, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Anthony DeSantis made a similar request to SGA for over $40,000 for University-organized tailgate parties.
Algarin wrote the bill requiring signatures from the SGC-MMC vice president, speaker of the senate and chair of the finance committee on any requests greater than $3,000. Currently, only the signature of the president, comptroller and vice president of Academic and Student Affairs are required.
The comptroller, in charge of most of SGA’s finances, is appointed by the SGA president and confirmed by the senate. Still, some senators argued that two signatures were not enough oversight when handing out student fees, especially from two members of the executive branch.
SGC-MMC comptroller Ariadna Natteri declined to comment on the record for this article.
The main critique of the bill was that getting five students in a room to sign off on funding would be difficult in the event of an emergency. The bill requires three more signatures for approval than what is currently needed.
Still, most contingency fund requests are given days ahead of the actual event.
“I think everyone agrees we don’t won’t to make split decisions and this helps make sure that we don’t,” said Algarin.
Rosell had no doubt her administration would be able to handle the task, but worried about future administrations. Rosell did not have a vote in the senate but must approve it once it moves to the University-wide council.
“I have to think about who is going to sit in this chair when I’m gone,” she said.
The most recent emergency funding that SGA members brought up was the vigil held for the victims of the FIU bridge collapse. SGA was asked to help pay for part of the vigil that took place almost a week after the collapse.
Algarin also argued that the bill would decrease the pressure felt by Rosell when administrators ask her for money.
“It doesn’t put Sabrina [Rosell] in a place where she feels pressured in any way, because she always has to come back to us,” Algarin said. “And if we don’t agree it also gives our legislative branch a chance to make their voices heard.”
A shuttle ride away, the entire SGC-BBC executive board vote on how to spend their contingency fund.
The bill was initially introduced at a University-wide congress, where senates from both campuses converge, on Oct. 21. Congress did not meet quorum and it was delayed for another week. In SGC-MMC senate next week, the vote was tabled in order to have time to discipline senators who had not been meeting office hour requirements.
SGC-BBC still needs to vote on the bill, and won’t be able to until Nov. 18 because of the Veterans Day holiday.
If it passes, the bill will move to University-wide council, made up of the two student government presidents, vice presidents, senate speakers and speaker pros.
If the bill passes the council it will become law for the SGC-MMC, but not SGC-BBC.
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