The Associated Student Finance committee voted in favor Monday to help provide additional funds to the Chicano/a Graduate Student Association (CSGA) and their upcoming event, Communities en Movimiento Encunetro: Cultivating the Politics of Listening and Sharing.
The committee voted 3-0 in favor of allocating $1600 to the upcoming event.
“It’s a way for the students and the campus to extend a hand to the community,” said Scott Hernandez, chair of CSGA. “We want to recognize the community and what research they have been doing.”
Hernandez said the event would offer participants a chance to see what type of research has been done in the Chicano/a community. The event will offer information on art, health and ways to build a stronger community. Up to 300 people are anticipated to attend the event.
Hernandez said the undergrad students would have the chance to look at internships and job opportunities offered at the event.
The one-day event has been planned around the same day as the fall equinox on Sept. 21.
Hernandez hopes the event can set an example for future Chicano/a events.
The request that generated that most discussion was made by the Armenian Student Association, who was looking for extra funding for their Culture Day and their annual vigil to those who were killed in the Armenian Genocide.
The committee voted 3-0 to give the ASA $580 towards their October 18 vigil. They also voted to allocate an additional $1499 to help with the ASA’s Culture Day.
This meeting was the committee’s first meeting for the academic year. The members met only a few times over the summer because of the difficulties of scheduling a day where everyone could meet.
Most of last year’s former members graduated last spring, leaving several seats to be filled by new faces.
“It’s a new group,” said Dave Crandall, general manager of Associated Students. “This group will make about $6.5 million in decisions this year.”
Crandall said that several members from last year did return to serve on this year’s committee.
David Knecht, director of finance for AS, agreed that it was a good meeting. He also said that this year’s committee will be a good group to work with.
This meeting also looked at requests from several other student organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineering’s request seeking funding for their event, a dodge-ball tournament. The ASCE hopes the tournament will help get their organization recognized by more CSUN Students.
“In the engineering building, we are kind of isolated,” said Ronald Rugamas, president of ASCE. “We want to change that.”
The ASCE hopes that their event will bring the organizations at CSUN closer together by helping each other build a stronger community between them and the campus.
The Finance Committee voted 3-0 to give the ASCE $1900 to use towards their events.
A request for funding to help send deaf-study students to Washington for a conference was made by the Deaf CSUNians. The group hopes to send at least four of its students to the National Council of Hispanic and Hard of Hearing conference in Washington. The committee voted 3-0 in favor of giving the Deaf CSUNians as total of $3,556 towards the trip.
Without anyone to represent the CSUN Panhellenic Council, their request for $14,300 was postponed until the next meeting.
Crandall acknowledges that not many CSUN students realize that the finance committee even exists.
“We are not all things to all people,” Crandall said. “But to some, we are important.”
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