Legislators unanimously approved amendments to the Student Organization Finance Committee bylaw and elected members to the Duke Student Government Judiciary and the SOFC after rejecting a request for a group's charter at DSG's meeting Wednesday night.
The amendments--instituted by SOFC chair and junior Pushpa Raja--included having a representative from Campus Council on the committee after the organization contributed $35,000, instituting stricter consequences for late submissions of renewed charter requests, officially removing the University Union from funding, allowing SOFC to approve funding requests of up to $500 and giving DSG discretion to approve $500- to $2,000-funding requests by a majority and requests of more than $2,000 by two-thirds vote.
Six out of seven student groups that applied were either chartered or recognized by the legislature, including the Duke University Chorale, the Defining Movement Dance Troupe, the Dance Dance Revolution Club, Duke Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, the Duke Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and Camp Kesem. The legislature, though, denied senior Josh Solt's request to charter the Duke Surf Club.
"I think we're getting a little out of hand with approving all of these clubs," said senior Thaniyyah Ahmad, vice president of community interaction. "We just approved the SCUBA Club [last week]--I mean, you could share a bus, you both have to get to the ocean," she added, suggesting the groups share costs.
Though some legislators said it was only fair to approve the club after the SCUBA Club's recognition, others questioned instruction and safety issues, to which Solt replied that he "hadn't really thought about safety."
Some legislators were hesitant to approve clubs because they were concerned about limited funds. "Let's not set these groups up for failure when we can't give them the support that they need," said Vice President of Student Affairs Troy Clair.
Vice President for Facilities and Athletics Cliff Davison, a junior, also announced Traffic and Parking Services added two buses to their East-West route Monday.
Five students were elected to SOFC: juniors Uday Chatterjee and Edward Keith and freshmen Jim Liu, Katie Jandel and Paige Sparkman.
Legislators elected freshman Hao Fung, sophomore Katie Wilson-Milne and junior Peri Kadaster and appointed seniors Evan Davis and Kristin Heinz and sophomore Rahmin Sarabi to the DSG Judiciary.
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