Council approves $1,200 for record breaking bouncy ball drop
The ASUSU executive council passed a bill Wednesday to allocate $1,200 to the Science Council and Society of Physics Students for a bouncy-ball drop March 17 during Geek Week.
The science council is planning to break a world record by dropping 20,000 bouncy balls out of a helicopter. The current world record is 16,000 bouncy balls.
The science council and society of physics students are putting on this event in part to encourage k-12 students to study science and math. The group visits multiple k-12 schools each week to encourage students there to study science and math.
The $1,200 ASUSU gave to the event came from the capital and support fund. This fund accumulates money not spent over past years, and any group on campus can submit a request for money. The money from this fund being spent on this event is not coming from this year’s student fees.
The $1,200 was allocated for the purchase of bouncy balls and event publicity.
Also at the meeting, the council again postponed making a decision about a bill that would allot $30,000 to student clubs and organizations at their Wednesday meeting.
The ASUSU discretionary fund for clubs and organizations would create a fund from Tier II tuition money that could disperse up to $30,000 to student clubs and organizations annually.
Tier II tuition comes from students’ tuition rather than state and federal funding. The state dictates how Tier I tuition is spent, but Tier II funds are spent at the student leaders’ and university president’s discretion.
The bill was first postponed at the council’s meeting two weeks ago due to concerns about additional hours and responsibilities for the ASUSU executive council and advisers, and to clarify whether this fund would be available to distance education students and students at regional campuses.
Currently, a member of ASUSU must co-sponsor an event held by any student clubs or organizations and an adviser must be present for liability reasons. The advisers expressed concern at the meeting two weeks ago that this bill would substantially increase the number of events which would add more hours to their already full-time positions.
This week Tyler Tolson, ASUSU president, proposed changing current policy slightly so clubs would be required to provide their own advisers for events so that ASUSU advisers could maintain their current workloads. He also said he wants the bill to primarily improve the quality of events, not necessarily increase the number of events.
Two weeks ago, Rachael Anderson, ASUSU extension representative, said she wanted to know if students at regional campuses or in the distance education program would be able to apply for these funds and if money for the fund would come from their tuition as well. At the time, no one had a definitive answer.
This week, Anderson said that while tuition will increase all over the state next year, only money from students at the Logan main campus would contribute to the $30,000 fund.
Tolson said this week the council will further discuss concerns over the application process clubs will have to go through to get these funds, continued concerns over adviser workload, and concerns on how clubs will be accountable for the money they are given from this fund.
Administrative Assistant Keenan Neuhring encouraged passage of the bill, saying the concerns could be worked out later.
“I want to leave this school better than we found it,” he said, “we can’t table it again.”
Tolson said he also encourages the passage of the bill and that President Albrecht recommended ASUSU do something for students with Tier II tuition money.
“It would not look good if we did not do anything,” Tolson said. “We can work out the kinks later.”
Several council members expressed concern about the underdevelopment of the bill.
“We need to have all our ducks in a row before we pass it,” said Brent Crosby, ASUSU executive vice president. “I don’t think this bill is necessarily dead, it would just be hasty to pass it at this time. If it’s a great idea, (the council) can do it next year.”
Crosby said the Tier II committee will meet several times before the bill goes before the council a final time the Wednesday after spring break.
– rouchelle.brockman@aggiemail.usu.edu