Barristers’ Profits & Future Use
Student Body President Cherissa Lindsey (3L) announced that Barristers’ Ball made around $75,000 in ticket sales, with $45,000 being profits. Lindsey explained that some of the money will fund grad week and go to Student Affairs & Student Enrichment as their funds were frozen to pay for Barristers. Senator Rohin Balkundi (3L Jackson) asked if Lindsey anticipates any leftover funds, while Senator Omer Turkomer (2L Jackson) asked if leftover money could be used for Ad Hoc requests. Lindsey explained she wasn’t sure but was open to other committees using the funds.
Academic Integrity Committee Looking for 1Ls
President Lindsey is also looking for people to be involved with the Academic Integrity Committee for next year. While Lindsey emphasized wanting rising 2L participation, rising 3Ls are also welcome to help. If interested, please contact President Lindsey at cherissa.lindsay@law.gwu.edu
VOTE Act & New SBA Voting Process
The Rules and Constitution Committee introduced the Voter Options That Empower (VOTE) Act to create a less labor-intensive and more fair SBA election process. Senator Victoria Luckenbaugh (Head of the Rules & Constitution Committee and 4LE Jay) and Senator Thaddaeus Canuel (1LE Jay) introduced this bill. Senator Canuel explained the main change was to “reform our elections to use rank choice voting instead of a plurality.” This would allow voters to rank the candidates based on preference instead of voting for one candidate.
Both senators explained that the VOTE Act’s goal in introducing ranked-choice voting is to reduce the number of candidates elected without a majority, reduce runoff elections, and discourage negative campaigns. After some conversation about confirming the SBA’s ability and role to see this change through, Senator Quinn Biever (2L Brandeis) expressed his support for the bill. Other Senators agreed and motioned to vote on the Act. The new bill was passed unanimously.
Ad Hoc Fund Runs Low, President Steps In
At the beginning of the meeting, the Ad Hoc Fund had only $1,968.70 with thirteen requests on the docket, many of which requested more than was available in the whole fund. About half were for student organizations, while the other half were for individual students attending conferences or other law related events. Senator Biever (2L Brandeis) suggested starting with the student organization requests since they can’t fund everything.
Initially, the Senate spoke about only awarding half of the $2,000 the International Law Society (ILS) requested for their annual Embassy Gala. However, the Senate got the ILS president, MK Greening, to join the meeting at the last minute. Greening explained that they had already reduced their budget request from 5k and that an additional reduction would jeopardize the quality and ability to put on their flagship event. Since approving the ILS request would mean wiping out the current Ad Hoc fund, leaving none for everyone else, President Lindsey (3L) agreed to preliminarily allow some of the Barristers’ profits to go towards this round of Ad Hoc requests.
| Student Organization Requests | ||
| Student Org | Event | Amount Approved |
| International Law Society | Annual Embassy Gala | $2,000 |
| Legal History Society | End of Year Farewell Event | $450 |
| International Refugee Resistance Program | Letter Writing Workshop | $75 |
| Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Brief | Thrifted Books Fund | $178.27 |
| Law Students for Justice in Palestine | Button Making Event | $51.29 |
| Law Students for Justice in Palestine | Co-Hosting Student Iftar | $111.39 |
| Individual Student Requests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Student | Event | Amount Approved |
| Student A | Attending international law conference | $400 |
| Student B | Attending annual immigration law conference | $440 |
| Student C | Attending environmental law conference | $500 |
| Student D | Vetoed as judging event is not an approved event | VETOED |
| Student E | Attending international law luncheon | $80 |
| Student F | Attending fashion law symposium | $450 |
| Student G | Attending international arbitration conference | $159.88 |
| Total Ad Hoc Fund Request Amount | $4,895.83 |
By the end of the Senate meeting, $4,895.83 had been spent on all the approved Ad Hoc requests, leaving the fund at a negative $2,927.13, with the understanding that the Barristers’/ profits would replenish it for any end of year Ad Hoc requests.
