The following are meeting minutes from the House of Organizations meeting. The House meets every Tuesday at 5:30 PM in Room 318 on the third floor of The Commons. These meetings are open to all students to listen to discussion. If you would like to present an issue, please contact the Speaker of the House, Nayana Davis, in advance so you can be added to the agenda.
---
Call to Order
8:19
Roll Call
Ozell
Approval of Minutes
New Business
A. HL106-0607 – Additional Allocation for Perfected Praise for Dance Fest 2007
Joy: what money for dance class, they reallocated money for this event, total 225
Nayana: any Questions?
For: 8 Opposed: 0 Abstaining: 1
B. HL107-0607 - Additional Allocation for Maryland Student Legislature for Annual Session
Joy: hey hold this event every year, expecting 10, 30 dollars per person
Randy: where are they going?
Ross: Annapolis.
For: 8 Opposed: 0 Abstaining: 1
C. HL108-0607 - Additional Allocation for Quiz Bowl Team for National College Bowl Tournament
Joy: quiz bowl is going to national. They have not done much fundraiser, asking for 800 but given 600.
For: 7 Opposed: 0 Abstaining: 2
D. HL109-0607 - Additional Allocation for Tai Ji Club/Honors College Council for Honors College Mirror Ball
Joy: so honor college council teamed up with Tai Ji club, about a 100 people coming, held in the skylight lounge. They plan to charge 10 per person. Open to every one. What happen to other money? Were asking for 1000 cut down to 400.
Michael: so the honor college is not a school club is asking us to fund there event
Nayana: it is the Tai Ji club that is asking for the money.
Michael: so it there a reason why they are teaming up with the Tai Ji club.
Kary: this seems fishy.
Tabbassum: we don’t recognize the honor college council.
Nayana: it is the Tai Ji is asking money
Joy: it is open for everybody even though it says honor college mirror ball.
Michael: if the honor college wanted money they should go thru the channels.
Phil: this may be the Tai Ji is co-sponsor contribution towards the event.
Kary: is it still a co-sponsor if the honors college council not gives there own money, they are bringing fund from the “honors college” But not there own.
Phil: the honors college council does not have there own funds.
Michael: is it true that the money they are making from the ticket that they are selling going to the honors college council.
Nayana: yes.
Kary: so the SGA is going to fund the Tai Ji club for an event that the honors college getting the money and is not a SGA organization but will profit from funds given by the SGA.
Joy: they are not trying to make money from this event. They originally asked to break even.
Ross: the honor college has put up almost a dozen events and almost never breaks even.
David: if the house is going to fund this then the meaning of SGA recognized organizations go out the window.
Nayana: they are trying to be honest.
Ross: they don’t seem to be deceptive at all; it should really should come from the allocation pot. The honors college council should be call an organization.
Michael: so this body should fund this because they should be called an organization.
Kary: at the end of the day the honor college is not a recognized organization and they should be fund but I think it is time to take our policies seriously
Liz: at this point we should not fund them because we should be funding recognized organization.
Michael: the question is if we should fund this way or not.
Nayana: should it come from the house because they get it from other parts of the SGA.
Christine: why is the honors college not a part of the SGA?
Ross: the honors college is not letting the honors college council go.
Stan: we should be careful how we spend our money because there are other big things coming up to fund.
Michael: what is the point of the SGA if you fund everybody?
Ross: they originally wanted to get more organizations involved
Kary: if people turned things in earlier, we won’t have this problem.
Randy: I want to support them, but I want this to end.
David: if there is a profit then where would this money go?
Ross: it would go to the honor college council.
Nayana: so we should right the condition that the money they make comes back to us?
For: 2 Opposed: 4 Abstaining: 2
E. HL110-0607 - Additional Allocation for ASA for Jambo Night
Joy: asking for 4900; put in 2900
Phil: we met with Lee in office of student life to discuss this; in the sheet with the expenses and funding they gave us in the finance committee meeting they list 1200 dollars that is coming from their carry over account. When we checked there carry over account today it had 4900 dollars available to spend. If we denied there fund and if they would be allowed to go in to debt and make it up in ticket fund. If they don’t receive this funding they would not need to cancel the event.
Liz: it doesn’t seem that bad to help them
Michael: 6500 is already going to the event and they want more to have this performer.
Stan: when u talked to lee and if they go in to debt. It is possible to make it back.
Liz: the rac is a HUGE place. To get staffing, to get table, to get security. It cost a lot, how do you know if they will break even.
Phil: will they had to turn away people last year.
Liz: the other big issue is CP has the same event the same night.
Kary: I am concerned the information is so different.
Michael: I think the one thing to keep in mind it that the event is going to still going to go on even if this is not given.
Joy: how much is go in debt would they go?
Phil: 2500 dollar but they would make that back with ticket sells.
Liz: last year they had a lot more of carry over. They are trying to get sponsorships. They have worked for it.
Kary: they already gotten 6500 dollars
Stan: well college park doing this same event at the same time, the ASA club may lose a lot of money.
Liz: this is the first time it has been on the same weekend.
Michael: ASA should have chosen their day better.
Liz: we had the date first, then college park chose there date.
Phil: Organizations that hold big events would tend break even on the events.
David: how much in the AA pool left for this year?
Phil: less then 10000 but I do not have the exact amount.
Ross: I know this is a huge event but for one event it is too much.
Michael: this not primarily for umbc students there are going to be other people attending.
Stan: if we don’t fund them, then will office of student life fund them?
Phil: no, if we don’t fund them then the event will go on but the performer will not come.
Liz: how many people go to quadmania? How much that cost? I am looking for a similar event.
Joy: basically cutting this means no performer and they would go in to debt.
Phil they would go into deficient before the event but office of student life is ok with taking that risk.
Michael: office of student life is still confident that they will make it back.
Lamya: the only reason we consider funding them more this is because it is a big event. It does not seem right.
Michael: even this money they will go into debt.
Randy: how is debt work?
Phil: if they are indebt they can not go thru the AA process.
Ross: with a contact of this size no money going out student pocket. It would take 250 people to come to get out of debt. As for quadmania is done by many other groups coming together.
Joy: can we go over
Phil: 3500 came back, this year 145 thousand and now about 7500 is left.
Joy: is it possible to change the amount of AA. Make a move to change the amount to 1000.
Michael: every one seems that debt is bad, but office of student life is confident that ASA will make back there is money.
Nayana: second?
Liz: they would not a problem if the common would help them.
Randy: all members are paying 10 dollars to get in.
Nayana: everyone is paying. Let talk about the motion.
Michael: I think cutting this would complicate it.
Ross: like tabassum said. I think we gave this organizing a lot of money.
Joy: withdraw the motion.
Liz: the only reason they came back because the common is not doing the A.V
Michael: I think the money we gave them is enough.
For: 2 Opposed: 4 Abstaining: 3
F. HL111-0607 - Additional Allocation for TSA for Asian American Forum
Joy: April 5. Money for drinks and snacks.
For: 8 Opposed: 0 Abstaining: 1
G. HL112-0607- Approval of 2008 Student Organization Initial Allocation
Randy: so students for envirmental awareness have been rejected.
Phil: yes they asked for 60 and 80 dollars.
David: even if they were rejected they can still try.
Ross: is ease going to do the cry for help
Randy: the bartlbey 3000
Nayana: that is there total cost for the year.
For: 8 Opposed: 0 Abstaining: 1
H. JL115-0607-Approval of the Fiscal Year 2008 SGA Budget
Nayana: any questions?
Phil: you would be voting for allocations for next year. Basically what it comes down to it
David: the budgeting process: in November to the next November. This year the house can not allocate the amount of money for the pot without the SGA overall budget. The bottom line is the finance committee can not be approved tonight. Tonight when the house completes the process tonight.
Joy: what is the 11000 dollars?
David: the money is for the event for this spring. So what we are doing is allocating money for event before November. “Just in case money”
Nayana: anymore comments?
Randy: is it active over the summer?
Phil: they would need to get it now.
David: the SGA should become a 12 month thing.
For: 8 Opposed: 0 Abstaining: 1
Old Business
A. HL101-0607 - Additional Allocation for the Go Club For Maryland Open Tournament
Nayana: what are we doing?
Phil: we are waiting to see if they are fundraising.
James: 107 seems the same
Ross: last week is because
Nayana: still in the table
B. HL63-0607
Ross: we were told that it will be held on rush week and open to all but advertised as rush.
Nayana: we asked them if it was a rush event and they said no
Ross: that is bad, motion to bring back
(For 7 Opposed 1)
Nayana: it is brought back
Stan: how are we taking back the money?
David: can take it from the account because it never spent.
Ross: I thought it was spent.
Michael: so the money is still in the account tagged for sae, so can we take the money back.
David: we need more info
Ross: if the money is still there we can just take it back and if they spent we can still take action.
Nayana: so if the money hasn’t been spent then can’t we take it back and take action.
Randy: is there a way see if the money is going where it going.
Nayana: table?
Tabled
Committee Reports
Ross: we talked about sports club and stuff we are taking to budgetary policy meeting.
Nayana: as a policy stands we can’t fund a sports clubs.
Michael: we are looking to fund sports clubs.
James: the problem with that is that we don’t have a way to check.
Executive Reports
Tabassum: I have one thing, it is an announcement, not only are we vol. and we need to act like a SGA, so the rules: if you are caught visible drunk on the boat. If you are executive and caught drunk you will be removed from office. In the legislative you will have be filed for impeachment. What you do before and after the dance is you business but we will be turning away people.
Joy: we will talk about that on Monday
Tabassum: the rules are up.
David: it is thinking this thru, is there is going to be resources
Ross: there can be other groups that can be doing other things.
James: fee forum is about new SGA members and that will be coming up.
Announcement
Joy: the ticket for the spring formal will be going on sale Friday or Monday.
Roll Call
Ozell
Adjournment
10:22
Pass the Gavel