The Caribbean Students Association needs about $27,000 to stay active and keep the famed Junkanoo band playing, according to a request made to the Student Senate during its second session on Wednesday.
In requesting the money, Osubi Craig, a representative from the Caribbean Student Association, said the organization is facing a $17,000 deficit.
The group needs about $6,000 in scholarships by Sept. 9 in order to help keep several students who perform in the Junkanoo band in school.
Craig informed the senate that he needed over $27,000 in the spring 2008 semester.
“We’re doing things based on hope,” Craig said, “I have talked to everyone from boosters, the former SGA President, SGA Vice President, the former senate president, all of the deans, president of the school. There is not one person that does not know about the situation.”
FAMU’s Junkanoo band is famous for performing at various venues around the country, they performed at the Super bowl twice. The band plans to perform next month during Homecoming week.
Senate President Ricquel Jackson, a third year business administration student from Tallahassee, told Craig and the senators that she could not disclose how much money is in this year’s budget because the system in to pull that information is experiencing glitches.
The Caribbean Students Association was not the only group appearing before the Senate hat in hand. Taj Evans, president of the FAMU chapter of the Health Care Management Student Association, requested $4,100 in emergency A&S funds from the Senate. If allocated the money, the Health Care Management Student Association plans to use the money to sponsor a trip to a convention.
Evans told the senators that at the convention, association members will interact with black executives in the health care management field in the hopes of obtaining internships and employment opportunities.
In other business the Student Senate confirmed a number of officers. Anquan Brown, a fifth year pharmacy candidate from Miami, was confirmed as Campus Activities Board chair.
In his closing statements, Brown informed the senate that his board will produce activities and the board will be an “optimized and newly innovative campus activities board.”
Kendall Johnson, a sophomore broadcast journalism student from Tampa, was confirmed as precinct supervisor; Dominique Crawford, a third year business administration from Lithonia, Ga., was confirmed as comptroller; Justin Bouyer, a fourth year MBA student from Tallahassee was confirmed as secretary of academic affairs.
Amber Gray, a junior English education student, from Jackson, Ms., was sworn in by SGA President Andrew Collins as a junior senator.
John Williams, a graduate mass-history student from Baconton, Ga., was reconfirmed to the secretary of state while former secretary of the Senate, Jessica Blanding, was denied the deputy chief of staff position.
There are two vacant senator positions. Applications for these positions can be found in the Senate Chambers and are due Friday, Sept. 5 by 4p.m.
The Senate will also be on the Set on this Friday, from 12pm to 2 p.m. for “Senate on the Set Day.”