T he ninth A.S. meeting of the quarter ended in two and a half hours.
Councilmembers sped through various issues, including the media-org funding freeze and the rewritten Student-Run Television charter.
During public input, A.S. Elections Manager Vishal Kotcherlakota announced to council that spring election preparations have been running smoothly, and a mandatory candidate’s meeting will be held Thursday in the Forum from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
MQ Editor in Chief Nicole Teixeira announced that despite President Utsav Gupta’s Feb. 19 decision to freeze media-org funding, the publication will distribute a paper next week using its own funds.
SRTV manager Thomas Dadourian screened short film “Welcome to the New Us,” demonstrating SRTV’s artistic versatility and new direction in hopes of persuading the council to vote SRTV back onto the air.
In member reports, Muir College Senator Lynne Swerhone announced that she and Marshall Senator Brian McEuen were joining Campuswide Senator Adam Kenworthy in not wearing shoes for however long it takes them to raise $1,000 each.
As councilmembers tackled the issue of the funding freeze, they proposed amending the original freeze language to read, “Be it resolved that the A.S. recognizes the temporary discontinuation of its current print media funding bylaws.” The motion failed, 10-11.
Councilmembers moved on to discuss the possible re-naming of SRTV to TTV, or Triton Television. Dadourian said he was torn. “SRTV has a horrible stigma and to say that we haven’t changed is a bad thing, but at the same time, we’ve had a beautiful past,” he said. “I want to reflect changes in the charter with what changes we’re making in the studio.”
After a vote, SRTV went out the window, and the newly renamed TTV was declared up-and-running.
As the finance committee went over its bills to charge through council, VP of Student Life Riscie Hernandez advocated against funding $3,000 to Kaibigang Pilipino for its annual three-night culture celebration. This extra $3,000 would bring KP’s total allocation to about $18,000.
“KP gets too much money — all the other student organizations get half that amount,” Hernandez said.
Marshall College Senator Junn Paulino chimed in, adding that since KP’s event will be held on campus, it will see increased attendance and promote a sense of community.
Councilmembers overwhelmingly voted to allocate an additional $3,000 to KP.
Campuswide Senator Katie Hall said that the philanthropic Student Foundation will be “back with a vengeance” after the postponed Dance Marathon ’10.
In a e-mail sent to the counci’s listserv, Sixth College Senator Kevin Nguyen — who was impeached last week — declared his resignation from the student government.
“Again, I will really miss you all and I look forward to see all the amazing things this council will accomplish by the end of the 2009-2010 term!” Nguyen wrote. “I’m a free bitch, baby!”
