By Brittany Burke
The Latin American Student Organization was allocated over $9,000 to attend a conference in Puerto Rico amongst budgetary cut backs.
Vice President Inez Vera, former President Alex Rodriguez and L.A.S.O secretary Amanda Rodriguez presented a power point in front of the Student Government Association for a proposed contingency request of $9,620.
“Registration is $200 per student and we are asking that 12 students be allowed to go, the airfare the average cost is about $533 so times that by 12 you get the $6,400 the cost of the hotel is $360 per night we would get three rooms, which would suffice four students in each room for a total of $4,320 and the total cost of the trip is $13,020. Each individual who will be attending the conference is asked to contribute $250,” said Vera.
In an effort to cut costs LASO is willing to contribute $3,500 to the conference budget.
The request was passed after much debate and several amendments, with 18 yes and 14 no with no abstentions. The motion also allocated $1,500 to the organization for fundraising, which will be paid back to the SGA.
L.A.S.O requested the money in order to send 12 students to the ninth biannual Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities conference in Puerto Rico. The trip will be open to all undergraduate students at Central Connecticut State University. To be eligible for the trip the student must submit an application and be chosen by a committee.
“The selection process will be based on GPA, your involvement which can include your professional involvement, the work you’ve done work in the community, as well as your involvement as student leaders. Based on, not only LASO members, but the entire student body. And the final component would be a personal statement which will be an essay composed of a question or two. That’s where you really have to sell yourself as to why you would want to attend this conference,” said Rodriguez.
A student on the SGA will be appointed to the application committee since the trip is open to students beyond L.A.S.O.
In order to raise funds for the trip L.A.S.O is planning on holding a Latin American dinner as well as a “Guess How Many” game in the student center. L.A.S.O will fill a jar with candy and for a donation someone can try to guess how many pieces are in the jar.
There was much debate between the SGA senators regarding the amount to be allocated as well as the number of students allowed to participate due to the concerns with SGA’s contingency budget.
While the motion at last week’s meeting wasn’t passed to keep contingency requests under $10,000, Treasurer Asia Smith encouraged senators to be aware of the money being allocated. Debates between the senators carried on over whether or not LASO should be given all the money it had requested or if the organization should pay for a larger part out of its base budget.
Ultimately L.A.S.O was granted the full $9,620 budget with the majority of the votes.
Wednesday’s meeting was the last of the semester for SGA. All business will be resumed at the first meeting of the spring 2011 semester.
