On Wednesday, Jan. 22, SLU’s Student Government Association’s (SGA) student Senate convened for its second session of the semester and 10th session of the 53rd Assembly. Senators provided funding for Club Baseball competitions, SLU Shakti dance competitions and a Pakistani Student Association (PSA) wellness week focused on Down syndrome awareness.
The Senate provided a total of $3,786 of spot funding to Club Baseball across three separate bills. The funding will support the team’s National Club Baseball Association registration fee, which is required to be considered a club baseball team.
The requested funding will also help cover two of their three away games, where they will travel to Manhattan, Kansas and Fayetteville, Arkansas. All three bills passed with votes of 32-0-0.
Spot funding enables student organizations to participate in organization-specific competitions, conferences or other ventures that align with their overall mission. Once organizations have the total costs of their selected event, they may apply for spot funding. If their application is approved, SGA covers half of the total cost and the organization raises funds to cover the rest.
The Senate also provided SLU Shakti, SLU’s Bollywood dance team, with a total of $17,576.40 funding for three competitions. Shakti attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Udaan from Jan. 23 to 25. To prepare for their first competition, the team held a showcase at SLU on Jan. 22.
“Half our team are freshmen and they’re new, so we open doors to everyone, like friends on campus, to come in and watch our entire set before we go to our first competition,” said Mounica Valluru, Shakti’s Vice President of Finance “This gives our dancers a feel of how a stage presentation would be without all of the pressure.” This bill passed with a vote of 32-0-0.
Additionally, SLU Shakti was approved to compete at the University of Georgia’s India Night in Athens, Georgia. This funding passed with a vote of 29-2-1. The team will also participate in Nachele Deewane at the University of California Santa Barbara taking place March 6 to 8, which passed with a vote of 27-1-5.
The Senate approved $5,000 of wellness funding for the Pakistani Student Association to host a comprehensive awareness week about the Karachi Down Syndrome Program (KDSP) from Feb. 16 to 20. The week will spread awareness about stereotypes of Down syndrome through multiple events. The bill passed unanimously with a vote of 32-0-0.
The wellness week will begin with Chai and Chaat, an introductory event where students can learn about KDSP while enjoying chai and chaat. This will be followed by Sip and Paint, an active night showcasing low-energy activities and a social night featuring invited clubs, including the Indian Student Association and Asian American Association.
The week will conclude with the KDSP Dinner on Feb. 20 in the BSC Ballroom. This will be a formal, traditional Pakistani donation dinner featuring KDSP’s regional director, Dr. Zainab. The event aims to bring awareness to the issue of Down syndrome in the South Asian community.
PSA’s goal is to “create an inclusive space for everyone to come and feel welcome and get educated about how Down syndrome is part of us. We’re raising awareness, especially in the South Asian community, because there are some stereotypes,” said Sana Lodhi, PSA’s treasurer.
Wellness funding is distributed to individuals or organizations to hold events designed to enhance student wellness through the exploration of new ideas, promotion of healthy habits, encouragement of social interaction and overall embracement of the Jesuit mission.
The Senate discussed the possibility of raising the student activity fee, a conversation that would start this semester but not take effect yet. The student activity fee is currently $65 per student and is paid by all full-time undergraduate students, with graduate/professional students each paying $30. This fee supports SGA events and student programming.
Upcoming events include the Winter Involvement Fair on Jan. 28 from 2 to 5 p.m. and Oath Week, which includes many events hosted by the Diversity and Leadership Cabinet to celebrate SLU’s Oath of Inclusion, from Feb. 2 to 6. The next session of the Senate will be held on Jan. 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature a special visit from President Edward Feser.
