Student Senate convenes, restores full funding to Choral Arts and Wind Ensemble

Around 30 students gathered to attend the Student Senate’s meeting on Tuesday to listen to senators discuss allocation funds, club communication and senator attendance. This included whether Choral Arts and Wind Ensemble would lose funding after using Senate allocated funds to purchase merchandise last year. 

Funding cuts from Lehigh Choral Arts and the Wind Ensemble from Sept. 1 after the two organizations were unable to have their budgets voted on since the financial reports weren’t submitted in time.

Both organizations ultimately received the full amount they requested after senators deliberated on whether the groups should be penalized for violating bylaws. Senators discussed whether the rules had been adequately communicated and if the Senate has consistently enforced their merchandise policy. 

Senate Vice President Mariana Roldán, ‘28, said during the meeting that cuts to Senate sponsored organizations are made with the intention to add more money to the allocations pool for Senate recognized clubs. 

“They (the cuts) were made so that other organizations could have a fair chance at funding their own clubs and their own events,” Roldán said. 

In response to confusion about bylaws, the Senate also passed a bill requiring bylaws be explained to clubs by the allocations and audits committee, and also passed a bill adding attendance as a factor in weekly allocations funding. 

The Senate passed a bill to give all sponsored organizations their annual allocation this academic year. Normally senate sponsored organizations receive funding on a semesterly basis.

Senate restores funding for Choral Arts, Wind Ensemble 

Last week, the Senate reviewed allocations for the 21 sponsored organizations that receive funding on a semesterly basis. Five of the seven organizations being voted on were slated to receive the same amount of funding they requested, but choral arts and wind ensemble were not.

The other five sponsored organizations  that received funding include the Society of Spanish Professional Engineers, Southeast Asia at Lehigh, Asian Cultural Society, Lehigh Philharmonic University Orchestra and Jazz Ensembles.

After spending Senate funds on merchandise last year, Choral Arts was initially slated to receive $33,345, a $655 decrease from its $34,000 allocation last year at Tuesday’s meeting. 

Wind Ensemble was expected to receive $6,400, down from $7,750. 

The Senate ultimately maintained Choral Arts’ funding and Wind Ensemble’s funding in a 21-11 vote. 

Choral Arts spent around $600 on t-shirts members wore during an international concert trip in May. During the meeting, senators questioned each other and the executive board as to if the organization knew the purchase violated Senate rules, and if reducing funding was an appropriate response. 

Senators also raised questions about how clearly the Senate communicates its bylaws to student organizations. 

As of Wednesday, Senate bylaws are more than 50 pages long and haven’t been updated on the Senate website since May 2023, according to statements made by senators during the meeting. 

Senate President Drew Smith, ‘27, said after the meeting he could not confirm whether the online bylaws were outdated but said the Senate was working to update its website. 

The website has since been updated.

Senators also said the merchandise rule was not communicated through Lead LU, a required training for club leaders, and wasn’t shared with student leaders. 

Smith later told The Brown and White that this year’s allocations and audit committee considered bylaw violations when determining sponsored organization funding. 

He said the Senate has a responsibility to enforce its governing documents, and acknowledged the rules haven’t always been clearly communicated. 

“We are trying to be better about that in every way we can,” Smith said in regards to previous Senates not enforcing the  bylaws in general, including the ones about merchandise. 

Senator Bryn Kidd, ‘29, questioned whether student organizations could be held responsible for bylaw violations when the rules had not been clearly communicated.

“Do they even know we have bylaws?” Kidd said during the meeting. “I just feel like it hasn’t been communicated clear enough.”

Weston Hochhauser, ‘29, the Senate’s new deputy treasurer, disagreed, and said as adults, student organization leaders are responsible for understanding the rules governing their funding. 

He said the Senate’s decision last week to fully fund the Black Student Union despite a merchandise-related controversy created a bad precedent. 

“The BSU decision was a mistake because we set a bad precedent,” Hocchauser said. “We gave everyone else one set of rules and a different one for BSU, and that’s something in the past, but I don’t think we should be supporting ignorance in the bylaws.”

Senator Eddie Grinnan, ‘29, took a different position. 

Pointing out that Senate itself utilized Senate funds to purchase merchandise the previous year, he said penalizing campus organizations for doing the same would be hypocritical. 

“I would have a problem walking around in my Student Senate quarter-zip if I know we’re decreasing people’s budget for that same reason,” he said. 

Senator Elias Lowrey, ‘29, ultimately proposed restoring Choral Arts’ full allocation. His amendment passed 24-8, and the amended bill 25-8. 

Lowrey said after the meeting his decision was motivated by a desire to improve the Senate’s relationship with student organizations. 

“There have been mistakes in the past and maybe we should’ve expressed the bylaws more clearly,” Lowrey said. “A productive relationship going forward starts with us acknowledging that there have been mistakes.”

Senator Gavin Payne, ‘29, then proposed restoring Wind Ensemble’s funding to $7,750. The amendment passed, and the Senate subsequently approved the full allocation 21-11. 

Smith said the student turnout was unusual for a Senate meeting. 

Mason Lippincott, ‘27, a member of the University Choir, said the choir normally rehearses from 4:25p.m. to 6:25 p.m., during the same time as the Senate meeting. He said their director encouraged them to attend. 

Lehigh’s Director of Choral Activities Sarah Frook Gallo said students from several ensembles attended to express their concern about the potential cuts and their support for the music programs.

Miles Jaffee, ‘27, a Choral Arts member who attended the meeting, said he came to support the organization and the Senate’s decision to restore the funding was the right one. 

Jaffee also said the policy prohibiting student organizations from using Senate funding for merchandise should be allowed if it serves a specific, practical purpose, such as identifying other choral members in the airport. 

He said there was a difference between Choral Arts’ purchase of shirts for an international concert tour from other organizations’ merchandise purchases. 

The Senate’s decisions came as it reviewed funding for its sponsored organizations, which receive annual allocations from the Senate. There are 21 sponsored organizations and 200 recognized clubs. Both receive baseline funding, and only clubs can request supplemental funding throughout the year.

Senate changes club communication requirements, distribution of club funding

In response to concerns about club bylaws not being clearly stated to clubs, the Senate passed a bill 30-2 during Tuesday’s meeting establishing a requirement for funding bylaws to be expressed to club leaders within the first two weeks of the semester. 

Under the new requirement, the chair of club affairs and the chair of allocations and audits and treasurer will be responsible for communicating the information to club leaders. 

Eskin said that the previous Senate executive board wasn’t required to explain the bylaws rules to clubs, but agreed with the vote to require an explanation.

Additionally, the Senate passed a bill giving sponsored organizations funding for the full year for this academic year rather than on a semesterly basis.

Last week the Senate voted to provide sponsored organizations half of their funds for the year, Eskin said during the meeting, but she received feedback from some organizations that it wouldn’t work well for them.

“Either they run more programming in the fall or they use more money at the beginning,” Eskin said. “So with their feedback, I don’t think it makes sense to keep it how it was when they obviously need it to float.”

Senate adds attendance as a factor in funding decisions 

Adding a new factor to how weekly Senate recognized club allocations will be decided on, the Senate voted 31-2 to pass a bill that makes attendance and the duration of an expenditure/event a factor in funding decisions. 

The provision applies to recognized organizations seeking supplemental funding on an event-by-event basis. The new language states that “attendance and usage duration of an expenditure/event” will be considered when determining supplemental funding amounts. Verified attendance can be tracked through university software such as LINC. 

Eskin said attendance will not apply in all scenarios, but it will in some, especially with events involving food or other supplies. 

“If someone is having an event where there’s going to be a bunch of food, and they send me (a request for) $500 worth of food, would you not ask how many people are going to be there, and look at the cost of food per person there?” Eskin said.

Senator Jackson Dancy, ‘28, said during the meeting he agreed with the policy overall, but felt that training for those deciding allocations needed to be stronger. Dancy said he felt like there is no clear system for deciding allocations. 

Opposing the bill, senator Raquel Romero, ’27, said funding decisions should also consider an organization’s mission and the importance of the event.

“I’m in opposition of this bill because I think it’s shorthanded because there should be more that goes into making these decisions,” Romero said. “I believe that the events that are critical to the mission of the organization should also weigh heavily on how we make funding decisions.” 

Eskin clarified that taking attendance wouldn’t be mandatory for clubs, and that it would be one factor in a process of deciding allocations.

Students question Senate over recent funding cuts 

During public comment in the last 20 minutes of the meeting, attendees asked senators about funding decisions made the previous week, including cuts to Mustard and Cheese Drama Society, University Productions and The Brown and White. 

The Senate reduced Mustard and Cheese’s funding from $12,000 to $2,000 after the organization had spent $10,000 of its Senate allocation on Broadway trips for members. 

Smith said the organization’s appeal process would allow it to seek additional funding. 

Students also questioned the nearly 33% reduction to The Brown and White’s funding. 

Smith said the reduction was based on the assumption that the newspaper could reduce its print run by one-third, but the allocations and  audit committee was not aware at the time that 1,200 copies was the minimum order required for printing. 

Eskin said she’s been in contact with The Brown and White through email about appealing the funding decision. Smith told The Brown and White after the meeting that the appeal would first go through the committee before it would be brought to the full senate.

The discussion followed criticism of the Senate’s recent funding decisions and calls for greater transparency. 

When asked why these cuts were happening now, Hochhauser responded that the Senate hasn’t been looking for violations in previous years.

“The allocations (and audit) committee just kind of served as a rubber stamp for the year before and not really done their job as outlined by our Constitution bylaws,” Hochhauser said. “And secondly this year, when we decided to actually look into it and do what’s prescribed of us, we saw 200 plus clubs getting $36,000 and 22 (21) organizations getting 400 something thousand and looked for places where sponsored organizations violated our bylaws so we can make all students have a more equitable chance of getting some money for their club.”

During the public comment period, Chloé Iannitti, ’29, asked whether the Senate had the ability to increase its own budget rather than reduce funding for student organizations. 

Smith said that getting additional funding from the school would be ideal, but the Senate would have to explain to Provost Nathan Urban why they need more money and what they currently do with all the money, going back to issues with merchandise.

Smith said the Senate had continued communicating with The Brown and White about its coverage of the funding decisions.

During courtesy of the floor, Kidd asked why the Senate hadn’t made a statement about last week’s funding cuts, mentioning around 20 students had approached her with questions about the funding decisions. 

Kidd said the Senate should communicate major decisions to students before confusion spreads. 

“I’m not suggesting that we do something in response to The Brown and White, I think they are our collaborators on this,” Kidd said. “I think going forward, not just for this, but when we make some really large decision, we should be preemptively talking about how we’re going to communicate that to the rest of the student body.”

Mariana Roldán, 28, vice president of the Senate, agreed there should be a statement released to clarify information about the funding cuts. 

She said she thinks a lot of students don’t understand that the Senate had the intention of making funding cuts to sponsored organizations, which was to grant more funding to Senate-recognized clubs.

After an attendee asked how bylaw decisions are made, Smith said senators serve as representatives to their class constituents, and he apologized for miscommunication on the behalf of previous Senates.

“It was a mistake,” Smith said, about the Senate not communicating merchandise purchasing bylaws clearly.”

The Senate ended the meeting after extending the public comment period to allow students to ask questions about the funding decisions and the bylaws. 

Smith said the unusually large turnout demonstrated the role student government can play in giving students an opportunity to raise concerns directly with their elected representatives.