The Student Union (SU) Treasury Department proposed changes to their bylaws and election package and during their longest meeting this semester, March 7, approved 14 appeals for 12 different clubs for a total of $66,720.04.
Proposed Constitutional Amendments
The meeting began with a presentation by Emily Chen, a member of the Constitutional Task Force, who outlined changes that both the Senate and Treasury Department will vote on after spring break ends. These changes include the codification of impeachment and recall procedures.
If both bodies agree to the changes, the updated bylaws will go to a vote in the spring elections and must be approved by the student body before they become effective.
Modification of the electoral package
Election Commissioner Constantin Carrigan introduced an amendment that would ban the five undergraduate colleges from supporting candidates. The change was added to the election package approved by the Senate and Treasury Department at a joint meeting on February 28.
The Election Commission decided to change the language of the “Endorsement” section, which previously stated that every group on campus was eligible to endorse a candidate.
Carrigan stated that he did not want SU’s elections to be influenced by the university and its politics; rather, the election should remain student-centred.
The proposed change would only allow endorsements from groups recognized by SU, voters, and voter-governed campus organizations. Carrigan noted that the language of the final section was intentionally designed to include non-SU-recognized groups doing important work on campus, like Me Too WashU.
Treasury officials unanimously approved the change. Shortly thereafter, the SU Senate also approved the change, meaning it will be included in the package.
Trending topics: Stephanie Hsu
Treasury officials approved a request from Washu’s Social Programming Board (SPB) for $45,200 to have actress Stephanie Hsu speak at the Graham Chapel on April 10 as part of SPB’s Trending Topics speaker series. Funds for this application were allocated from a dedicated fund for Trending Topics events, separate from funds reserved for student groups.
Past speakers for Trending Topics have included Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown, Encanto’s Stephanie Beatriz, and Olympian Aly Raisman. Stephanie Hsu is best known for playing Joy Wang in the critically acclaimed, genre-bending film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The film was acclaimed for bringing more Asian representation to mainstream media, which SPB members emphasized when explaining why they landed on Hsu as a speaker.
Although Treasury officials noted that the price of the event was high, given the recent media frenzy surrounding the film, several officials spoke about the value of bringing Hsu to campus and the importance of including Asian and female representatives.
Treasury Appointments
Fourteen clubs solicited a total of $66,720.04 in funding at the Treasury Ministers meeting.
The Asian American Association (AAA) requested $7,496.25 for a formal event dedicated to Spirited Away, a popular Studio Ghibli film. The Treasury disagreed on how much funding to provide, particularly due to the venue chosen and the amount of food, and ended up funding $5,132.98 for the formal.
In addition, AAA requested $5,709.24 for a night market event, which was challenged due to the funding it requested for food and the requirement for uniforms for board members, which is not typically funded. The Treasury Department did not fund the uniforms and funded the event with $3,097.20.
The Bridge Club applied for $10,025.59 for the Brown University competition and received $9,563. Mosaic Whispers requested $2,475 for their April 24 concert, which was fully funded. WashU China Cares applied for $981 for an upcoming social event, which was fully funded. PESTL, a volunteer group that works with students of all ages in St. Louis, applied for $2,208 for rental cars, which were fully funded.
The WashU Hip Hop Union applied for $4,300 for a New England contest and was fully funded. The Badminton Club applied for $4,974.12 for an open tournament at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and was awarded $3,994. Triathlon applied for $14,620 for their Collegiate Club Nationals and was fully funded. Mock Trial applied for $7,290 for their AMTA Nationals and was also fully funded.
The Equestrian Club applied for $3,072.5 and $973.5 for two competitions and was fully funded for both. Swing Theory, a swing dance club trying to enter competitions in the future, requested $2,000 for its club, which has been fully funded.
WashU’s International Relations Council (WUIRC) applied for $10,448 for a model UN contest in Chicago. The Treasury funded them with $7,012.86, reasoning that funding 20 people instead of the requested 24 would reflect the precedent of other club delegations.
