On Sunday, Dec. 4, Pitzer College Student Senate's Budget Committee will propose new changes to the budget bylaws. The bylaw changes on Dec. 4 involve modifications to the structure of the committee and future changes will include changes to the structure of the budget.
According to Senior Class Representative Chance Kawar PZ ’17, in past years, 5C club budget hearings occur near the end of the spring semester, and one or two selected delegates from each of the five student governments meet in a room at Pomona College to make decisions on which clubs to fund. Kawar said changes to this arrangement are needed.
“The current process is really inefficient and totally lacking in transparency and accountability. There is minimal cooperation between the five schools, and each school is free to give as little or as much money as they see fit,” he wrote in an email to TSL. “I would really like to see some reform in how this current system works, with a more democratic process that includes input from additional student representatives.”
According to Senate President Josue Pasillas PZ ’17, the new budget process will be the most organized and transparent in the history of the institution.
“The proposed changes in the Budget Committee Bylaws will make our funds more accessible to the entire student body and will ensure that our funds are allocated in a more sustainable way,” he wrote in an email to TSL. “It is the responsibility of our student government to allocate a quarter of a million dollars smartly and fairly to benefit the entire student body.”
According to Senate Treasurer Harrison Sattley, budget changes will primarily involve changes to the budget committee organization, not changes to the budget itself.
Sattley said that future changes might include reorganizing the budget so that it is separated into categories, including an events budget category, a student organizations category, and a capital events category. He also hopes that clubs will be able to learn more about the resources they can go to for help with budget proposals, including allocation reimbursement and obtaining credit cards.
Sattley also hopes to redistribute the budget by providing more money for Executive Board.
“We're definitely trying to redistribute things so that we can do more events for Senate and the community based off of our budget,” he said.
Pasillas wrote that he will work with the Student Senate “to approve a budget that prioritizes our most important student organizations that serve as support groups and resources for our most underrepresented and marginalized students.”