Student Senate raises class dues by one dollar

The Student Senate voted to increase the Class Council dues by one dollar, bringing the price of dues from $13.50 to $14.50.

Undergraduate President Ria Massoni ’24 spoke to the Senate about increasing the dues for Class Council from $13.50 to $14.50, not including the $0.50 extra for the Undergraduate Council. Massoni stated that the last time that Class Council dues were increased was in 2009, and economic inflation would have made the $13.50 payment worth over $18.50 today. She mentioned, as an example, how the cost of the Cruise on the Hudson field trip had increased dramatically.

Treasurer Ibrahim Ali ’24 was asked to step down after the Student Senate missed the budget submission date for Union funded items. Ali had claimed multiple times that budgetary meetings had been taken care of despite the preliminary meetings and final meetings requirements both being unfulfilled. Grand Marshal Cait Bennett ’22 said she hadn’t noticed the issue until after the submission deadline passed. As a result, Bennett proposed a change to the Senate’s bylaws that would require the Grand Marshal or Vice Grand Marshal to attend the final meeting in person with the treasurer. This would avoid having to rely on the Treasurer’s word of mouth with the budgetary progress.

Lastly, the Senate passed a motion meant to act on the housing report held earlier this year. Class of 2025 Senator Philip Paterson was tasked with collecting and presenting the anonymous data and found reports of mice, insects, and mold. The Senate will attempt to advocate to Rensselaer for improvements and have a follow up meeting in the spring regarding any changes.

This Student Senate meeting was held on Wednesday, November 9. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 30 at 8 pm in the Student Government Suite.