The Lawrence University Community Council convened Tuesday, April 20 and discussed several recent budget requests from campus organizations and had a brief discussion pertaining to the Calendar Task Force’s upcoming vote to continue looking at the possibility of a semester calendar at Lawrence.Vice President Tariq Engineer brought before the council several budget allocation requests brought before the finance committee in the last two weeks. Groups requesting addition funds included SOUP, Lawrence University College Republicans (LUCR), Women’s Hockey, the Horticulture Club, Wriston Art Collective, Gospel Choir, and V-Day, as well as a group representing the upcoming Latin Dance Committee.
Notably, LUCR’s request for $5,300 to bring in a speaker was approved. The group intends to bring Dinesh D’Souza during Republican Pride Week (May 9-16). When this request was first raised second term, it was turned down due to insufficient terms. However, according to Engineer, a surplus currently exists in the LUCC budget, and it was the opinion of the finance committee that this was a “valuable event for the campus.”
All other groups, except the Gospel Choir, were awarded at least part of what they requested. Gospel Choir was turned down in their request to offset the cost of their members who are participating in Lawrence International (LI) Cabaret. While the group is performing at the event, Finance Committee felt that it was not appropriate for LUCC to cover admission to an event such as Cabaret for a campus group. It was Engineer’s opinion that LI would be a more appropriate channel to address the concerns.
The committee also discussed the actions of the Calendar Task Force. The task force is investigating the possibility of changing Lawrence’s calendar from the term system to a semester system. The council members raised some concerns for Fred Dias, a student member of the task force, to take to the decision of whether to continue pursuing the possibility of semesters. A forum is scheduled for May 13 to help students understand the proposals put forward.
The task force met on Thursday, April 22, to vote on whether to continue their investigation or to let the semester question die for the time being. As of publication time, the decision of the task force was not known.
The council also heard a report from Steve Rogness, representing the Environmental Responsibility Committee. Rogness told the general council that the committee is remaining active in keeping environmental awareness fresh in the minds of Lawrentians. He told the council that two students are working to turn an environmental management system practical to implement for the university. He said that he hopes the system might be implemented in the coming school year, and that if adopted, the system could potentially save the school money.
The council is also looking for a Webmaster for next year. Persons interested in the position must plan to be on campus all three terms and need to have experience in web building and upkeep. The position pays at least $100 per term.