Emergency Senate funds save MLK Night 2010

By Christopher Woodhouse

Dancers, poetry readings and other performances dazzled a packed crowd in Mayer Theatre Monday evening at the annual Martin Luther King Night celebration.

Most people in attendance probably didn't realize the event came dangerously close to being cancelled only a week before the curtain went up.

In an unprecedented move, the Student Senate voted last Thursday to approve $682 in funding to help event organizers pay off their final bills to rent Mayer Theatre.

The last-minute request was made after Igwebuike, the student group who plans the annual program, realized on Jan. 11 that a mistake in their financial paperwork would put them approximately $1000 short of their budget.

By releasing such a large amount of money this early in the quarter, however, the Senate leapfrogged a number of guidelines governing its club funding process.

"There are certain sections of the Bylaws I believe this might have actually violated," said junior Senator and Parliamentarian Adrian Morales, speaking about the vote in relation to Associated Students' governing documents. Morales, along with two other senators, voted against giving Igwebuike the additional funding.

Senate Chair Chris Mosier stopped short of calling the action an outright violation. "It definitely could be seen as bending the Bylaws in certain aspects since we didn't follow the certain guidelines set up for Senate and for clubs," he said.

According to section six of AS Bylaws, registered clubs may request funding for such things as event sponsorship or equipment purchases. Requests must be made in a formal petition detailing what the money will be used for. Rules also stipulate that petitions greater than $400 require a presentation to the whole Senate by the requesting club.

Igwebuike was not asked to make an additional presentation last Thursday.

Funding requests less than $400 are evaluated by the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) and presented to the Senate throughout the year. All petitions above that amount, however, are normally entertained only during week seven of each quarter.

Winter quarter petitions over $400 were due Nov. 4 and presented to the Senate the next day. Igwebuike made three separate petitions, totaling $4,790.

For MLK Night alone, club officials requested $1,500, calling it their biggest and most important event of the year. The Senate eventually voted to fully fund the MLK Night petition.

The issue was settled for nearly two months before Igwebuike realized that a miscommunication between club officials and members prevented them from paying for Mayer Theatre.

As part of their MLK Night petition Igwebuike requested money from the Santa Clara Fund (SCF), a donation initiative that sets aside nearly $10,000 this year for additional club funding.

Clubs applying for SCF money are allowed up to $1000 per year and must write one thank-you letter to donors for every $10 received, according to SAC chairman Nhunguyen Le.

Igwebuike applied for SCF money and believed the $1000 would come in addition to the $1500 they requested for the event.

Instead, the Senate approved $500 from its discretionary budget and $1,000 from the Santa Clara Fund.

The error was not realized until a week before the program because a majority of Igwebuike's planning came after students returned to Santa Clara following winter break.

The unexpected reduction in their budget caused event planners to cut back on a few elements of the celebration like stage decorations, said Igwebuike co-chair Makensy Smith.

Though it did not follow normal procedures, Mosier believes he was right in bringing the matter to the Senate last week.

"There certainly was a pressure since they needed the funds immediately," he said. "In this case, considering the club and their circumstances, I think it was appropriate that we considered it and had a vote on it."

"Situations like this, if they happen again, should be considered on a case-by-case basis," Mosier added.

Though acknowledging its importance, Morales believes Igwebuike's MLK Night was unduly given special consideration.

"I felt like this was unfair to other clubs who weren't getting this priority treatment," he said. "I felt like it was their mistake and it wasn't something AS should have to pay for."

There are currently no plans to officially review whether the vote was a violation of Bylaws, though Mosier has directed AS Chief Justice Daniel Solomon to determine whether any rules were broken.

So far, Solomon says the vote, "deviated from normal conduct."

Contact Christopher Woodhouse at cwoodhouse@scu.edu.