The second BUC fund meeting of the semester on Oct. 4 was a three-hour debate.
With 18 applications and more than $56,634 requested, it took a significant amount of time to discuss each one. Every organization except two who applied this time got at least partially funded.
The total given out was $34,720, leaving roughly $50,000 left in the BUC fund, according to secretary of allocations Dustin Gilmer.
Women’s Studies received the most at $4,700 with the Lucille Clement Hall Council and Governor’s Hall Council receiving the least at $400 each.
The rest of the allocated funds went to: College of Public Health Student Council ($1,620), Student Nurses Association ($1,600), Zeta Phi Beta ($1,100), AMSA ($3,550), HASCA ($4,050), Student Photography Association ($2,000), Shades of Africa ($4,680), Chi Sigma Iota ($3,700), Military Medicine ($1,000), Pre-Law Society ($1,550) and Honors College Student Council ($4,370).
Volunteer ETSU and Sigma Phi Epsilon were the only two organizations to not receive any funding. Some of the events SGA decided to fund include FMLA’s biennial Sex Week, a photography exhibit, a poker night and several leadership conferences.
Due to a constitutional law stating that 85 percent of the funds should go to on-campus events, and 15 percent for off-campus events, a motion was eventually made to override this rule, allowing more funding for off-campus events.
The senate re-voted and re-discussed certain applications more than once, such as the Student Photography Association, the College of Public Health and the Student Nurses Association to make sure each organization received the amount they deserved, especially after the suspension of the rule.
Everyone from Associate Vice President for Student Engagement Jeff Howard to SGA President Pooja Shah congratulated the senate on making sure the funds were allocated fairly, no matter how much time it took.
“Thank you all for an awesome BUC fund session. I know there was some confusion, it was really, really long with tons of applications, but I think we got through it well and represented SGA well in front of all of our organizations, so good job on that,” Shah said.
Other than BUC fund, SSB-16-004, the legislation for ETSU to be a part of Bee Campus USA, passed unanimously. Secretary of the Exterior Molly Jones also presented the senate with possible artists for SGA’s upcoming spring concert, in order to narrow down the list for the student body’s final vote.
