ASB Vice President Morgan Gregory counts votes at a senate meeting last semester. Photo: Thomas Graning, The Daily Mississippian.
The Associated Student Body senate voted unanimously Tuesday to pass the 2014 spring budget.
The budget allocated $4,050 dollars to 21 campus organizations. After passing this budget, the ASB gave a total of $64,050 to student organizations this school year.
ASB Treasurer Madison White said the organizations had to go through an interview process to receive the funds.
“We have applications that student organization presidents will fill out,” White said. “Then either the treasurer of that organization or the president will come and interview with us. It’s a pretty rigorous interview for us to learn why they want the money and what they are going to use it for.”
The budget was brought before the senate to gain approval before it went into effect.
The senators also passed a resolution to hold an invocation before each senate meeting. The resolution was written in response to a judicial hearing in 2011 that ruled invocations before senate meetings to be against The University of Mississippi Constitution.
Authors, Senator Emerson George, Senator Sam Hearn, and Senator Jake Loyer, presented the resolution. They explained that this resolution is not something that would go into effect upon a vote. They said the purpose of this resolution was to show senate support when taken before the judicial council.
George said that the resolution does not force anyone to pray but guarantees students the right to prayer as is established by the United States Constitution.
“I just want to make sure that it’s known that the Associated Student Body does not stand for infringing on its rights,” George said. “We are an open campus, and we fully reflect the United States Constitution and the ruling of our higher bodies, so we need to act in a manner accordingly.”
Hearn said he thought having an invocation would be a way to make senate meetings more inclusive.
“In writing the resolution, I really wanted to help foster community and unity within our campus senate,” Hearn said.
The resolution passed with 26 votes in affirmation, no votes in negation, and 11 votes in abstention in a roll call vote.
ASB President Gregory Alston said he was happy the senators passed the resolution.
“I’m in complete support of the Invocation Act 2014,” Alston said. “I was actually an ASB senator when the invocation was taken away from the senate, so I believe there should be a prayer to open the senate meeting. What they are passing is not something that forces somebody to give a certain type of prayer. Anybody can give whatever prayer they would like to according to their religion, but I’m in support of the senate meeting being opened up in an invocation.”
— Allison Slusher
dmnews@gmail.com
