The Associated Student Government embraced the Halloween spirit Wednesday with costumes, candy and, of course, attending to business by appointing members to the Board of Financial Review.
This year’s Hallosenate had an eerie start, with members showcasing their Halloween costumes and competing for a selection of Barnes & Noble gift cards: $75 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place.
The senators came ready for the Halloween season, with costumes such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Harry Potter, Alexander Hamilton and many other spooky delights. Senators had the opportunity to vote for their favorite look in an online poll.
Weinberg freshman Maddie Vartanian took first place as Hamilton, SESP sophomore Britney Perez and McCormick sophomore Diego Oliva secured second place as Dora the Explorer and Diego, while Weinberg freshman Rayan Lahlou-Nabil came in third as a banana.
Vartanian said she is looking forward to sitting down at a Starbucks in Barnes & Noble and browsing through an array of books to purchase with her new gift card.
Vartanian knew exactly what she wanted to wear to this year’s Hallosenate and said she is most excited to get ready with her friends on Halloween, digging into the care package of candy and cupcakes that her mom sent her.
“I’m a Hamilton fan to my root — painfully since fifth grade. When my friend showed me this costume, I just knew I had to wear it to the ASG Senate,” Vartanian said.
ASG Senate’s next order of business was appointing members to BOFR. The members in BOFR help meet with student organizations that want to apply for funding from the Student Activities Finance Committee to help them prepare their pitch and make recommendations about allocations.
There were 14 members appointed to BOFR, and the new members were asked to sign up for a 15-minute time slot on Calendly between Nov. 7 and Nov. 11 to meet with the student organizations.
Weinberg junior and Speaker of the Senate Grace Houren said there are slight changes to the funding process this year to make it run smoother than in the past. Previously, applications opened a day or two before funding Senate. This year, applications will close a week early to provide more time to review applications as a full Senate, Houren said. Funding Senate will occur on Nov. 20 this year.
“For a while, funding Senate was a really scary thing for everyone involved, because you have a lot of people coming in who don’t really have much experience, and this is their first time even thinking about the funding process,” Houren said. “So we’ve tried to do a lot with funding Senate in general, having more accountability and just making sure we’re really thinking about our funding before going through with it.”
According to Houren, ASG ensures a fair allocation process for funds to student groups based on impact and sustainability. Houren said they assess how the money will influence student activities and whether it will be used to purchase environmentally friendly items.
Weinberg freshman and senator Nonso Onwaeze accepted a position on BOFR this year. He said he plans to listen to the needs of student organizations, discussing decisions with other members of BOFR to make sure everyone gets the right amount that they need.
“I want to make sure every student organization here on campus feels heard and represented, and they get enough money to help them achieve their goals,” Onwaeze said. “I want to ensure equality for all student organizations here on campus.”
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