A bill to repeal a prior action eliminating the mention of the emergency reserve fund in the Student Association codes was proposed during the SA meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Kittredge Auditorium. The general assembly will vote on the bill at next week’s meeting.

Two weeks ago, a bill was approved that eliminated all mentions of the emergency reserve fund from the SA codes. Members questioned the existence of the account and decided that removing it would prevent any future confusion, Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo said.

But last week, a high-ranking administrative official alerted members of SA this was not the case, he said.

The account is still active and contains about $176,000. The funds were collected approximately eight to 10 years ago from students to be used in the event of an emergency. SA has received $1,300 in interest per year from this account, which is added to SA’s budget every year, DeSalvo said.

‘Part of the reason we made the bill to scrap all of the reserve fund stuff from the codes was because we thought we weren’t using it anymore, and that it didn’t exist,’ he said.

If the bill is passed, SA will leave any mention of these funds in the codes and will only use them in the case of emergencies. However, this money can theoretically be utilized in other instances, like if SA overspends its estimated budget, DeSalvo said.

Earlier in the meeting, two candidates ran for positions on the Finance Board. Both were elected by the general assembly.

Joshua Chaplin, a junior public relations major, was one of the individuals elected to the board. He failed to receive approval from the assembly last week but was determined to run again.

‘I was nowhere near as prepared as I should have been,’ Chaplin said. ‘I felt as though I owed it you guys and myself to come back and show you that I do have what it takes to take an active role on the Finance Board.’

Patrick Douglas, a freshman accounting major, was the second candidate approved for a position on the Finance Board. He discussed his prior experience with allocating funds in high school and emphasized that he would not be afraid to voice his opinion regardless of whether it was unpopular.

There are still two open seats on the board.

Minji Hwang, a freshman communications and rhetorical studies major, and Sophia Borrelli, a sophomore broadcast and digital journalism major, were confirmed, with little argument, to positions as representatives on the general assembly.

Hwang said she wanted to serve as a voice for students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, addressing any concerns about the recent changes to The Warehouse’s hours. She also advocated the implementation of comment boxes throughout campus and said her communications background would aid her when talking to administrators.

Borrelli expressed a desire to promote SA by attaching its name to more campus events. She discussed plans to create events like a volleyball tournament to help students relieve stress.

The School of Information Studies and S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications are now fully represented in the general assembly. A total of 21 open seats remain.

Other business discussed:

• SA will provide round-trip buses to New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, New Jersey and Washington D.C. for $99 for Spring Break. The buses leave from the Schine Student Center at 5 p.m. March 9 and depart at 10 a.m. March 18 from the various locations to return to campus.

• President Dylan Lustig discussed the early stages of a possible youth leadership summit at SU, which would allow students to discuss important issues with several officials from the White House.

• Lynde Folsom, a member of the Judicial Review Board, introduced a bill that allows members of the JRB to maintain their positions as officers in other organizations, as they currently cannot. However, if the JRB is reviewing a case where one of its members is affiliated with a group, he or she cannot participate in mediations.

• After contacting the author of the SA codes, it was determined that committee chairs — as long as they hold a position on the general assembly — have a vote. This was a debated question at last week’s meeting.

dmsegelb@syr.edu 

Published on February 6, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum