Student Senate Meeting Minutes

Finance Committee update

Finance Committee gave a presentation to Senate on fiscal policies and the funding of student activities. It was noted that currently almost half of student organizations are officially unrecognized by the Joint Funding Committee (JFC), and that the current approval rating of special allocations is currently 54 percent of the target 61 percent. The initiative to create the webpage funding.cmu.edu was also presented, where all funding sources on campus can be displayed and searched. Additionally, the committee discussed the goals of creating a book of precedents and best practices, as well as increasing transparency between the administration and the student body.

Last year the Finance Committee spent all but $4,000 of its special allocation money, with the goal of spending all of the money available for these allocations.

Financial allocation: CMU in Haiti

The CMU in Haiti service group sought funding to send 14 students and one faculty member to Haiti for a service project. This new group received $1,000 in allocations from the JFC, as is practice for new organizations, but due to a travel advisory is unable to collect more funds. When asked about the risk to students, the organization’s leader presented that one out of 150 people had been medically evacuated in the past four years, so while risk is present, it is minimal. Senate voted to allocate funding to this organization.

Financial allocation: Senior Events Committee

Student Activities’ Senior Events Committee sought additional funding from Senate to hold events for members of the senior class. Because this money carries the possibility of reducing ticket prices for their events and the ability to create a feeling of community for seniors during their final weeks at Carnegie Mellon, this funding was approved.

Committee update: Academic affairs

After one year of work, the Academic Relationship Code, which aims to formalize the way professors and students communicate with each other, has been completed. The Academic Affairs Committee is talking with the study abroad office in an attempt to make it easier to schedule semesters abroad for students. There is also work being done with respect to reducing stress culture across campus.