By Carlos M. Cruz
It has come to my attention that clubs have been promised money, apparently, by members of the staff of both tickets in the upcoming Student Government presidential elections. Allow me to set the record straight right now: No ticket can make or enforce that promise. Any ticket that claims that promise is guaranteeing your club or organization nothing. The way the appropriations process works is thus: An organization writes up a budget proposal and submits it to the appropriations committee. The committee reviews the proposals as a whole. Discussions are held and the committee decides on a final number. The committee then votes on it, and the number that receives the majority of the vote is the prevailing number, which is ultimately awarded to the club.
After this process, the proposal is sent to the senate. The senate either agrees to the number and votes on it, or a member may rise and make an amendment. Amendments to budget weekend minutes can only be made if the number proposed is higher than the number agreed upon by the senate. The new number is then debated. At this time, a club may chime in an offer to the senate reasons as to why it deserves more money than what appropriations grants them. At the end of the debate on the newly proposed number, it is voted on by the senate and passed by a majority of those present and voting. Now, upon reviewing this process, we can learn the following lessons: the only way to raise a budget is to convince the majority of the appropriations committee that the number is warranted. The appropriations chair cannot unilaterally promise to give anyone a high budget. The vice president cannot unilaterally promise to deliver anyone a high budget. These two positions preside over the respective bodies and normally do not vote, nor do they normally participate in debate. The president technically does not even participate in senate and does not normally participate in debate. The president also never has a vote in the senate.
The bottom line is this: the only way to get the budget you want for next year is to submit a budget proposal with explanations as to why you are requesting the numbers you desire, and provide supporting documentation as to further convince the committee to grant you the number your organization desires. If any one ticket says that they alone can give you a higher number, they are completely wrong. If any member of either staff tells you that they alone can promise you a higher budget, they too are wrong. If someone from my staff tells you that, please alert me or Peter DiSilvio. I’m sure the same goes for my esteemed opponents, Katherine Legnetti and Brent Weitzberg. Hopefully this letter serves to correct any rumors that may be floating around the Hofstra community.
Carlos M. Cruz is a political science/history student and Appropriations Chair for the Student Government Association. You may e-mail him at [email protected].