With BUC Fund sitting at almost $10,000 left, Sen. Garrett Parks presented a piece of legislation that would reallocate the time of distribution for requested money.
“There’s a rumor that the constitution says we must follow a ‘first come, first serve,’ but it doesn’t actually say that anywhere that I have reviewed,” Parks said. “As you can tell, there’s something wrong with the system as it is because we’ve already used–and usually do–all of the money in the fall for both fall and spring events.”
Parks previously served as the chairman of BUC Fund last semester and had been preparing this legislation, as well as other pieces, in order to improve the BUC Fund system.
“If passed, this legislation would have prevented applicants from applying too early, by limiting the time frame in which you could apply,” Parliamentarian Nathan Farnor said.
The legislation proposed that organizations could only apply for BUC Fund at certain times throughout the year.
“For example, if an organization applied for funding in September but their event was in November, their request would be denied,” Farnor said. “They would be encouraged to reapply October, when their event was within a month and seven days of that BUC Fund session. Under extreme circumstances, this legislation would have given the senate a change to override the time frame with a two-thirds vote.”
President Pro-Tempore Brandon Johnson (who is the advertising manager for the East Tennessean) argued that a two-thirds majority vote would be unfair to organizations that needed the money immediately compared to those who are able to wait until the session and have half of the senate to get it to pass.
“The organization is at fault for not applying ahead of time for the event,” Sen. Molly Jones said. “Certain events, like ETSU Con, need time and money before the event in order to make the appropriate plans and purchases; they shouldn’t be punished due to time restriction.”
The legislation failed to pass due to the concerns presented by different senators, feeling that the piece lacked a true fair system for all student organizations.
Parks turned in his resignation before the end of the meeting as soon as the vote was decided by senate.
“I’m not saying that this legislation is the answer, but it is a fix that can be amended and hopefully open everything up to fixing more issues with BUC Fund,” Parks said.
