Minutes: Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Attendees

Guests:
Mike Herrick
Aimie Wilgor
Kathleen Gibson

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Accepting or Amending of the Agenda
1. Community Service
2. Financial Aid
3. Student Satisfaction Survey
4. IT Committee
5. Website Committee
4. Accepting or Amending of the Minutes
5. Officers Reports
1. President’s Report
1. Change the way we vote on money.  Lots of confusion on voting procedures and amendments.  Q&A for person asking for funding.  Before any motions, time to talk about the monetary issues.  Throw up a few numbers on the board and get a feel for how much we want to give before making proposals.  Hold motions until 10 minute discussion is finished.  We’ll try it today and see how it works – for larger sums of money.
2. Sen. Malbasa: Do we need to pass a rule for that?
1. Senate Counsel Kringel: we can adopt our own procedures.  No need for a rule unless an objection.  This is how the budget committee runs.
2. Vice-President’s Report
1. Sen. Gupta and Sen. Wolf will be planning bar review for the rest of the semester
3. Secretary’s Report
1. Please send agenda items before the meeting
4. Treasurer’s Report
1. Budget Report
1. After reclamation – $5,100 in general fund for this semester. 
2. Budget Audit Report
1. Honor Court Justices Herrick & Wilgor: money is taken back from events not held.  $2,233 recovered – published in Docket.
1. Set up a policy so that organizations are accountable and for future honor courts to follow.  If groups said they would have an event and didn’t, we took back money.  If had an event and didn’t spend over $100, we took it back.  If had an event and less than $100 left, the organizations keep the money.  This way the money goes back to the general fund and can be used by organizations that need the money.  The goal wasn’t to take money away, it’s just for accountability. 
2. Treasurer Chan: the entire audit is published online and student org leaders were notified by email and in the Docket.  If orgs need additional funds, they can come before SBA and ask for funding. 
3. Sen. Tsai: how did you verify whether the event took place?  Herrick: we looked at how much money was spent and through receipts to see if they were reimbursed for the event.  So if a group forgot to submit receipts, money was taken away but if they turn in receipts they will be reimbursed for it. 
4. Took things back that were months overdue.
5. Motion to accept the budget reallocation.  Second.  Passed unanimously.
3. Funding Requests
1. ACLU – Mardi Gras Supplies (B-Sides)
1. Kathleen Gibson: requesting $75 for beads.  Giving $250 back from casino night and do a sponsored bar review instead.  We want to get decorations to make it a Mardi Gras party.  There is a party store on Mayfield and we want to get beads for about 70 people. $75 is a good deal and will probably make more money than casino night.  The fundraiser comes from just getting a cut from the bar.
2. Sen. O’Brien: Will that be enough beads?  ACLU has extra from last year.
3. Sen. Malbasa: motion to grant.  Second.  Passed unanimously.
2. SBA – Fat Tuesday Party (Backacre)
1. VP Holmes: had it last year and was successful - 175 people came and we had alcohol and food from Fat Fish Blue – real creole food.  There wasn’t enough so we want to ask Uptown to get a better deal - they will make creole food.  The goal is to accommodate more people.  There will either be cans or a keg - $150 of beer.  Barbri will be a sponsor for $300 so we’re only asking for $300 from SBA.  Barbri is throwing in a raffle for a dvd player.  We have leftover decorations.
2. Sen. Nardulli: will there be music?  Yes!
3. Sen. Malbasa: are you sure it’s enough? 
4. More money for King cake
5. President Choy: $500? If we don’t use it all it will go back to the general fund. 
6. Sen. Zink: $300 because we try and tell orgs not to ask for extra money.
7. Sen. Laldee: second Sen. Zink
8. VP Holmes: true but we want people to spend money in a way that benefits the whole school.
9. Sen. Gupta: we need to add in for the cake
10. Sen. Wolf: reward her for sponsorship, still less than what she would have asked for
11. Sen. Nardulli: somewhere between 300 and 500
12. Sen. Malbasa: second
13. Sen. Zink: don’t just throw out random numbers, keep all of this in mind when other orgs come forward
14. Sen. Tsai: want more alcohol – figure in calculations
15. Sen. Logue: principle of frugality is great, but we have a lot of money – more inappropriate if money is not spent
16. Sen. Schmitt: $7000 figure?  Sen. Logue: added sums from all the funds
17. Senate Counsel Kringel: agree with Sen. Logue.  This is a successful event.
18. Sen. O’Brian: excess cash, don’t we owe then a make up for fall ball? All that money could go toward doing that.  4:30 isn’t the best time for everyone
19. Sen. Nardulli: if start at 4:30, if it’s a big event to last a while, then give more. Could we make it larger?  VP Holmes: We have it until 7.  alcohol permit does run out at a certain point 
20. Sen. Tsai: motion to grant 400.  2 opposed. 1 abstention.  Passes.  SBA receives $400 for the Fat Tuesday Party.
5. Senate Counsel’s Report
1. I love you guys
2. Step 1, cut a whole in the box.  Step 2 will be next meeting.
6. Committee Reports
1. Admissions
1. Admissions office needs more law ambassadors to give tours around the law school to prospective students.  If you are interested please e-mail Sen. Bliss or talk to Jessica in the admissions office.
2. Student Life
1. Bar review at Maproom – free pizza thanks to Sen. Wolf.  Suspending bar review on March 29 for the SPILF auction, Apr. 5 for a Cinqo Demio party; and Apr. 13 will be a bar crawl
3. Sports
1. Next event end of march – 3 on 3 Basketball tourney
4. Community Service
1. Co-sponsor the Sing for the Cure with JLSA
2. Offer to put name on ACLU Mardi Gras party if it will help
3. Plan an event in the spring with the business school – they had 90 people for their last one. 
5. Financial Aid
1. Committee met last month to discuss goals.  Try to get an open forum for Tanya Phillips to come in with a senate hearing format.
2. Sen. Laldee: doesn’t like it
3. Sen. Tsai: goal to understand the process and allow students to ask questions.  Forum would be a better word
4. Sen. Logue: may be a regulation that the school may not be abiding by regarding loans and we have some tough questions to ask and can do so in this forum
5. Treasurer Chan: could this be handled in an interview in the Docket?  That may get more press.
6. Sen. Wolf: have you talked to Tanya or just ambushing her in the forum?  Sen. Tsai: tried to talk to her last year but still wants clarification
6. IT Committee
1. Forum this Monday in 158 at noon – director of IT and Megan Allen will be there to answer questions about the page quota.  Actual page # has not been set.
2. Sen. Illar: talked to some 1Ls and a lot think it’s a good idea and see a good number between 1500 – 2500.  Student orgs and notes use more.  Cap and charge for the rest
3. Secretary Aldes: Is there an agenda or do student org leaders just speak and ask questions?  Mock trial was not on the list of organizations that will have increased printing and should be.
4. Sen. Nardulli: printing cases doesn’t count from Lexis and Westlaw
5. Sen. Logue: training session near the end of the year and get away from that 1st page
6. Sen. Nardulli: one of the printers has been uninstalled in the student org office
7. Website
1. Training people to learn how the program and build a website.  Met with Sen. Wolf and Sen. Hudson.  Next meeting – check email.
2. Sen. O’Brian: when you send out information about an event, can we send out the link to our site to get info about the event
7. Subcommittee Reports
8. Old Business
1. Ski Trip: 15 people signed up and 4 more are signing up.  Arranging transportation among themselves – day trip to Alpine Valley.  Good price and great way to have fun.  Extended until tomorrow afternoon. 
9. New Business
1. Student Satisfaction Survey
1. Sen. Tsai’s concern about lack of satisfaction data.  Goals to get student involvement in creating the survey and helps out SBA to have access to these results so we can better represent the student body.  Want 2 volunteers from each year to help.  Feb 26th Monday at noon.  Volunteers: Senators Malbasa, Schmitt, Logue, O’Brian, Illar, Wolf, Nardulli, Bhushan, and President Choy
10. Announcements
1. Sen. Laldee – BLSA Soul Food & Jazz
1. Thursday March 1 – Friday is the Rod Stewart Concert.  It will be downtown this year, not at Nightown.  Cheaper to park on a Thursday.  Wilburt’s on 9th and Sinclair. 
2. Anyone want to donate anything?  Sign up on the sign up sheet.
11. Cheers & Jeers
1. Sen. Malbasa: Cheers to whoever grabbed the papers and put them out
2. Sen. Malbasa: Jeer to  Shticks on principle
3. Sen. Davidson: Cheers to Emily, Sapna, Jen, Bridget, and Annamarie for making it so that he doesn’t have to plan more bar reviews
4. President Choy: Cheers to budget audit committee for report
5. Sen. Tsai: Cheers for Chicago Bears
6. Sen. O’Brian: Jeer to willingness to be open-minded to change
7. Senate Counsel Kringel: Cheers to Sen. Illar – way to lead by example & Cheers to bar review people. Jeer to not commenting on financial aid issues.  Cheer to Pres. Choy for baking. 
8. Senate Counsel Kringel: Jeer to Johnny Hutchinson for not showing up for his Budget Committee Audit Report.
9. Sen. Schmitt Cheer for a productive meeting
10. Sen. Gupta: Cheers to Shticks on principle
12. Adjournment