ASA motion to change member dues fails

The African Student Association approached the Executive Board to reduce their membership dues from $15 to $10 a person annually. The club explained that the leadership had increased the dues two years ago because of the high cost of fundraising for Africa Night. They now want to reduce it to more closely resemble dues for other multicultural clubs on campus. ASA believes lower dues could help bolster membership from 48 to historical highs of 80 to 90 members. To reduce the membership dues, the E-Board would give them an additional subsidy of $240 from club contingencies to pay the difference for this fiscal year. Some of the E-Board was concerned that approving the motion would set a bad precedent for other clubs since ASA has had budgeting issues and they increased the dues previously without the suggestion from the E-Board. After the discussion amongst the board members, the motion failed 7-8-2.

Following ASA, students from the MEDLIFE Movement came for Union affiliation. MEDLIFE, or Medicine, Education, and Development for Low Income Families Everywhere is a non-profit organization that provides medical, educational, and developmental aid worldwide. The RPI chapter wants to fundraise for projects, host seminars for global health, and grow opportunities for shadowing national projects. Annually, there are a few global trips, including going to Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, and Tanzania. The E-Board was excited for the organization and unanimously approved the affiliation.

Rensselaer Quadball then came for an additional subsidy request to pay part of the subsidy for a coach. Quadball wants to hire a coach to help them with drills and practice, following suit from the Ultimate Frisbee Club. In the past, Quadball had ranked in Division 1, but they recently ranked in Division 2 and didn’t fully perform as well as they expected to at nationals this past year with a mostly younger team. The subsidy of $1,068 would cover half of the salary, and without it, the club’s annual $82.50 due would rise to $190, versus $136 with the subsidy. The motion passed 15-0-2.

For the fifth annual RPI Service Day in October, Alpha Phi Omega requested a subsidy of $1,575 for buses. Although APO isn’t funded by the Union, the special event falls under the administrative budget. Lower Class of 2028 enrollment led to a decrease in the Union’s budget causing the APO program to lose the funds for buses. The motion passed 13-0-4.

Finally, the Chinese American Student Association asked for an additional subsidy of $132 to compensate for the gas to attend the Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival. The E-Board made it aware that per Union rules, they only cover half of the transportation costs, so the motion was changed to replicate that. Additionally, the calculation of $132 was made when the club was going to take more cars, so the number was changed again. The motion to approve a subsidy of $39 to cover the gas for the festival passed 11-2-4.

From last week's meeting, the 24-hour Union request was brought to the board but was again tabled because Toby McDonald ’26, who brought the motion, wasn’t in attendance.

The Executive Board meeting was held on September 18. E-Board meets weekly on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm in the Shelnutt Gallery.