The USC Student Senate began its work for the spring semester at Tuesday's senate session. Issues at hand included mental health awareness, transparency and the allocation of funds for Krispy Kreme doughnuts and coffee for the organization fair.
Luke Rankin, secretary of campus outreach, asked for $250 for doughnuts and coffee for the organization fair, which is on Jan. 23. He arrived at this amount after talking with a staff member at a local Krispy Kreme.
Rankin presented the cost to the Senate via the "Notes" app on his phone, citing that the fast food chain is not a catering company and does not regularly give quotes before purchases.
The proposal didn't go unchecked. Kyle Lang, who earlier in the meeting had been confirmed as a new finance committee chair, questioned the legitimacy and morality behind the proposal. The third-year business management student led the debate and requested more formal documentation to show the exact cost.
According to the Senate’s Master Codes, section 3-4-10, article D, any organization requesting funds from Student Senate must show exact prices instead of an approximate cost and must do so with documentation. The Senate does not have a corresponding rule, but the core of this debate was to decide if the governing body should be held to the same standards that they require of other campus organizations.
“If you’re a student organization and you come in with a notes app we’re going to not grant that request,” Lang said. “[The senate] is not subject to the exact same rules, but it’s the principle of it.”
Amendments were proposed to offer time for an accepted proof of cost to be presented. The one that passed gave Rankin two weeks to provide the receipt before he could be reimbursed. He will be required to offer documentation from Krispy Kreme to fulfill this requirement.
Rankin responded by saying he would have it on the Jan. 23, the day of the organization fair.
“I really don't think there was much of a problem," Rankins said. "Just clarification and making sure that everything was there, in terms of what money is being allocated and for what."