TCU Senate hears 7 funding requests, shares updates

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate met to hear seven supplementary funding requests and share updates in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room on Sunday night. 

TCU Senator Deepen Goradia reminded the Senate about its first town hall with Tufts University President Anthony Monaco of the academic year on Nov. 13, which will focus on mental health. 

The town hall comes after Tufts’ Mental Health Task Force released its report analyzing student mental health after a three-year-long review.

Goradia, a sophomore, added that a Dec. 5 town hall focusing on budget transparency and university advancement will likely move to another date in order to accommodate the availability of the relevant administrators. 

"It will probably be pushed towards the beginning of the second semester, because there's no date where all of the major heads are available at the same time," Goradia said.

According to TCU Senator Philip Miller, a senior, the TCU Textbook Exchange will be following through on an agreement with the FIRST Center, which stipulates that books unsold after two years are donated to the Book it Forward lending library. 

TCU Senator Tim Leong, a sophomore, announced that the Turkey Shuttle, which helps students commute to Boston Logan International Airport at low cost for flights over Thanksgiving break, will lower its ticket price to $3 down from $5. 

Additionally, TCU Treasurer Sharif Hamidi summarized and detailed how much the TCU Senate has allocated in supplementary funding so far in the academic year.

“As of right now, we have spent $94,000 … in supplementary funding,” Hamidi, a junior, said. “In terms of the breakdown, we’re looking at about 47% of our money being spent on events and programming.”

Hamidi added that his goal of spending no more than $200,000 in supplementary funding requests this academic year still seems possible. 

The TCU Senate then approved seven supplementary funding requests, all of which eventually followed the Allocations Board (ALBO) recommendations.

Tufts Culinary Society requested $1,005 for its Culture Crawl event on Nov. 8, which was approved by ALBO, according to its report. 

The TCU Senate approved the request in full, which was passed by acclamation. 

Electric Racing initially requested $2,300 to cover the registration fee for a competition in April, though ALBO only approved an allocation of $2,070. 

The TCU Senate approved the ALBO-recommended total of $2,070, with 28 senators in favor and none opposed.  

Ears for Peers initially requested $725 for costs associated with its Nov. 22 retreat, though ALBO only recommended $484, according to its report.

The TCU Senate approved the ALBO-recommended total of $484 in full, which was passed by acclamation. 

ENVY initially requested $830 to cover transportation costs for a competition in New Jersey on Nov. 9, though ALBO only recommended $747, which Senate approved by acclamation.

GlobeMed requested $624 to cover the registration and transportation costs for a conference in New York City, though ALBO only recommended $562, which TCU Senate approved.

The School at the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) Student Government requested $6,275 in supplementary funding for the student organizations on the Fenway campus, though ALBO only recommended $5,355, according to its report. 

Hamidi explained that the difference in funding was largely attributed to ALBO’s decision not to allocate $770 towards seven new student organizations at the SMFA, since they did not yet submit a budget. 

The TCU Senate voted to approve the ALBO-recommended total of $5,535, with 25 senators in favor and three opposed.

Women Entrepreneurs @ Tufts requested $1,258 for costs associated with its conference on Nov. 9 and 10, which ALBO approved, according to its report. 

The TCU Senate voted to approve the request in full, with no senators in opposition.