The $40,000 believed to come from the Student Government Association Reserves account to pay for Florida A&M University’s trip to Washington D.C., was actually from another source as revealed in last night’s senate meeting.
According to Senate President Ricquel Jackson, no money from the account has been spent.
“It was brought to my attention that it was funded through the university,” Jackson announced to the senators.
But the money that the university used to send FAMU’s band and SGA has to be paid back from an undisclosed SGA account, Jackson said. She said over $1 million has been released from the SGA Reserves account, also known as the Carry Forward account, but no money has been distributed.
“The senate nor has the senate president, [and] senate leadership provided approval for Carry Forward dollars to be spent at anytime in the 2008-2009 school academic fiscal year,” Jackson said.
In addition to the Carry Forward account being discussed, Calvin Hayes reported the concerns of FAMU’s law school located in Orlando.
As the liaison for the Student Bar Association, Hayes explained to the senators that law school has just as many pressing issues as the main campus does.
“Some of those issues are student registration, second, communication with the main campus, and third, the activities and service fees that [law students] pay,” Hayes said.
Hayes also briefly explained how the law students need a health practitioner.
“They would like to have a health practitioner actually come to the law school because they pay a health fee but they have to travel all the way to UCF to actually have an assessment,” Hayes said.
By reporting the law school’s needs and concerns, Hayes hopes the senators will make a change.
“My hopes and wishes are that the funds that they submit, they should get their proper allocation and hopefully the senate can really look into making sure that happens,” Hayes said.
Next order of business in the senate meeting included Senator Justin Clarke’s motion for an audit request for band operations.
According to Clarke, who is also the A&S liaison, there is a $100,000 deficit in the FAMU’s band account. The motion for the audit was passed with a vote of 22 in favor of and six against.
Lastly, FAMU Strikers and Mahogany founder Shepiro Hardemon made an announcement about the newly made t-shirts showing support for the FAMU Strikers who are still in the running to be America’s Best Dance Crew.