The Undergraduate Senate passed numerous pieces of legislation, including the Student Government budget for the 2006-2007 year, in the last session of their inaugural year.
The $558,000 proposed budget was written by Comptroller Zach Ulrich and then amended by members of the Senate before it was approved with only three dissenting votes.
The greatest increase in the budget was to the Women's Initiative's budget, with an overall budget of $15,000, or an increase of nearly 200 percent.
Outgoing School of Public Affairs senior and Women's Initiative Director Jen Smyers said the budget increase demonstrates the cultural shift from when she first arrived at AU.
"Most importantly, it means that women's issues matter to the Student Government," she said. "This is something that has been reinforced this entire year by the executives and today by the Senate."
With the increase to the Women Initiative's budget came cuts in other areas. One notable decrease was to the Student Union Board.
SUB's budget was decreased by over $4,000, a great change from the original proposed budget that cut over $20,000.
SUB Director Eric Friedlander, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, expressed appreciation for the adjustments of the proposed budget.
"I'm glad the leadership committee was able to correct the comptroller's recommendation for SUB," Friedlander said. "I hope that as the SG becomes more knowledgeable about the music industry, the Senate and SUB will be able to continue working together to fund the bringing of top-name acts to the campus."
There was little change to the Kennedy Political Union budget, with a $1,000 increase, making it $144,550.
The overall payroll for the Student Government totals $79,900. The Senate adjusted payroll for the next year, allocating money to make the Women's Initiative director and Board of Elections chair and vice chair paid positions.
The Senate finished the legislative term by passing legislation authored by Class of 2008 Senator Charlie Biscotto that works to inform students of the discrepancies between having a meal plan and using cash for payments.
The legislation recommends that students who aren't required to have a meal plan withdraw from the program and urges Housing and Dining Programs to re-evaluate the options and costs of the meal plan.
The greatest criticisms of the legislation came from Senator At-Large Josh Cahan and SG President Kyle Taylor.
Cahan's biggest critique was the lack of discussion with the administration.
"It wasn't researched; I think for the SG to be effective, we need to work with the administration, not against them," Cahan said. "Not that they need to heed the administrations advice, but at least discuss with them."
Taylor's biggest concern was the lack of research and suggestions for implicating the legislation.
"They didn't offer any suggestions and they're telling Housing and Dining and Bon Appetit to be more economically competitive," Taylor said. "Without offering suggestions, they're essentially giving all control to the administration, which can potentially be very dangerous."
Biscotto responded to criticisms by saying that enough research was done.
"We're not looking to criticize any member of the administration; we're simply looking to give numbers to students," he said.
The Senate also passed legislation encouraging the board of trustees to selectively divest all AU funds from companies that aid the Sudanese government due to the current policy of genocide towards its own people.
The legislation, sponsored by Senator At-Large Una Ann Hardester, calls for the board to examine where AU funds are invested and whether these companies directly or indirectly benefit the government of Sudan financially.
Hardester said she was pleased the legislation passed.
"I sincerely hope that the [board of trustees] will turn this into a formalized legal policy of American University because there is no excuse in the world for even one cent of AU tuition dollars ever making its way into the hands of the Sudanese government while it is pursuing a policy of genocide," Hardester
said.
