The Boston University Student Government Senate convened Monday to approve funding for three proposed initiatives, including care packages for finals, an initiative from the Food ad hoc committee and the Expect More Campaign.
The funding to support the #Food4Thought campaign, an alternative to Make a Difference Monday, care packages and polling for SG’s Expect More campaign were all approved.
Will Horne, the vice president of finance, said the total amount of funding from Senate for the initiates approved Monday totaled $11,447, and there remains $8,250 in Senate funds.
“It’s really good that we spent that much money because all the initiatives that were presented deserved it,” said Horne, a sophomore in the School of Management. “The money that was spent is going to reach a huge amount of students and basically re-investing it to the student body.”
Robbie Brussell, SG’s communication director and chairman of the Expect More campaign, proposed the funding of student polling to support the campaign, which is intended to gather student feedback regarding issues on campus. The polling proposal, which passed in the Senate on Monday, is expected to collect phone numbers from 2,000 students and will require $14,000 in funding.
“We’re getting $7,000 from Senate and $7,000 from Executive Board to fund the free food,” said Brussell, a junior in SMG. “There’s a chance that we may have to pay other fees like reserving parking through the City of Boston and logistics.”
SG’s Academic Affairs Department proposed to continue the care package initiative that launched in the fall 2014 semester. The department decided to increase the amount of care-packages to 1,500 units, which would require $4,275.50.
The care package initiative and funding was approved with 26 votes, zero opposing votes and seven abstentions.
Marissa Choy, chairman of Academic Affairs, said the funding is beneficial for the initiative, the student body and SG’s campaigning purposes.
“It’s about getting Student Government’s name out there. We have a lot of brand advertising within our products. We want students to know who we are and what programs we do,” said Choy, a sophomore in the College of Communication.
The Food ad hoc Committee proposed an initiative to provide three new SG-branded suggestion boxes in dining halls across campus. #Food4Thought will rotate sustainable options in the dining halls to create more variety for students. The initiative requires $171.59 and was approved with 30 votes, zero opposing votes and two abstentions.
The committee also proposed the #Food4Thought campaign, a suggested replacement for the Make A Difference Monday program, which has been getting negative feedback.
#Food4Thought was passed with 30 votes in support, one opposing and one abstention. Austin Kruger, chairman of the Food ad hoc Committee, said the campaign includes an educational aspect and would double the amount of sustainability-focused days.
“The #Food4Thought campaign also includes an extensive media plan that will help educate students about sustainability efforts, and give more consistent feedback to BU Dining Services about food taste,” Kruger, a junior in SMG, wrote in an email following the meeting.
Joe Ferme, executive president of SG, said the money Senate is spending on the various initiatives ultimately gives back to the student body.
“It’s really important that all of that money that we spend today is going to be seen by the students and that’s what we really aim to do as Senate,” said Ferme, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Rich Driscoll, a Senate representative from the Brownstone RHA and chairman of the Election Committee, said the amount of money dispersed moves Student Government forward.
“It was definitely worth the large expenditure that we pay tonight,” he said. “I understand that it’s a lot. I was at first unsure about this, but definitely tonight through the debate that we had, that it was definitely worth it.”
