The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding requests and held internal elections for parliamentarian and Allocations Board members in a meeting on Monday night.
After a brief roll call was taken, Joe Golia, the director of campus life, introduced himself to the Senate body and explained the role of the Office of Campus Life in supporting the 350-plus student organizations on campus and managing their operations.
TCU Treasurer Elizabeth Hom then introduced four supplementary funding requests.
Parnassus requested $158 to take club members to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in order to gain inspiration for creative writing. Five members of the Allocations Board voted in favor, with none opposed and none abstaining. The request passed the TCU Senate by acclamation.
Students for Exploration and Development of Space requested money for flight tickets and Ubers for a three-day trip to a space conference in Houston. After a proposed $2,090 failed because of the Allocations Board’s $2000 cap on travel expenses, TCU President Amma Agyei proposed a lower figure of $1,881. Her proposal passed with 28 senators voting in favor, none opposed and two abstaining.
Ears for Peers requested $150 for a new desk chair to replace its office chair, which is in poor condition. Seven members of the Allocations Board voted in favor of the request with none opposed and none abstaining. The amendment was approved by acclamation.
Tufts Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia Students Association requested $770 to cover transportation costs for an apple picking trip in Andover, Mass. Five members of the Allocations Board voted in favor of the request, with none opposed and none abstaining. The request passed the TCU Senate by acclamation.
Mark Lannigan, the chair of the Tufts Community Union Elections Commission, then introduced the parliamentarian and Allocations Board positions, and candidates had the opportunity to nominate themselves or other senators.
Agyei briefly explained the role of parliamentarian, after which Class of 2023 Senator Ibrahim AlMuasher nominated himself for the parliamentarian position.
“I think one of the most important goals of the parliamentarian should be to help students and student groups, to make sure that their resolutions end up making an impact and getting to administrators,” Almuasher said.
The nomination was passed by acclamation, and AlMuasher was elected parliamentarian.
TCU Treasurer Elizabeth Hom next explained the role of Allocations Board members, which is to attend supplementary funding meetings with student groups and oversee the budgeting process.
Four Class of 2025 Senators ran for Allocations Board positions. Nessren Ourdyl, João Ribeiro and Natalie Rossinow were elected members of the Allocations Board.
TCU Vice President Tim Leong then introduced the committee chairs for updates. Arielle Galinsky, Class of 2024 senator and services committee chair, explained her goal of starting a program to donate meal swipes.
“One thing that we want to do this year is start a program to see if we can donate more meal swipes,” Galinsky said. “Currently you can only donate one meal swipe if you’re on the unlimited meal plan, and most of the time you won’t use all of your meal swipes. There’s already an organization on campus called JumboSwipes … so we’re going to see if we can partner with them.”
Galinsky also talked about a 2021 “Turkey Shuttle,” which would bring students from the Tufts campus to South Station and Logan Airport for free during the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
“That’s something that Senate sponsors and does every year, so we will be working on that very extensively over the next two months before Thanksgiving,” Galinsky said.
