PSGA Blog Number 19: Budget Tabled and The Future of Culture Shock

The PSGA met on Wednesday, April 22 with intentions to vote on next year’s budget, but instead tabled the discussion until next week so it could be better publicized towards clubs, organizations, and services. Saying there was “no reason not to wait another week,” Head of Tech Services Ed Willock sent an e-mail before the meeting showing his concern for the budget discussion, saying that the Senate did not properly advertise the meeting for the budget which in return gave less time for club, organization, and service heads to discuss it.

President-elect and Coordinator of Clubs, Organizations, and Services Kevin Collymore, along with several other senators, agreed that it was in the best interest of the PSGA’s image of transparency to table the discussion so there could be more deliberation.

The meeting, which was delayed nearly 30 minutes due to its lack in senators, consisted mostly of executive reports and discussions of Culture Shock and its future as a festival. Before the motion was made to delay the budget vote for another week, Chair of the Senate Russ Zambito said he was disappointed with many of the senators’ absences from the meeting. “This is the most important meeting of the year because we are discussing the budget and I am disgusted that so many senators did not show up,” said Zambito.

Zambito said he notified the Senate of the budget discussion on Monday, but according to Willock, notifying only senators was not adequate advertising of the vote, leaving most students uninformed of the important meeting. “I think it would be a poor choice of judgment if the Senate voted on this today because not only does the budget include inconsistencies and inaccuracies, but it was also poorly advertised,” said Willock.

The Senate ratified last night’s executive election results, officially making Collymore the next president of the PSGA. The ratification also made official the election of Kristen Benedict as Coordinator of Clubs, Organizations, and Services, Nico Marseca as Finance Coordinator, and Zambito as Chair of the Senate.

PSGA President Joe Matoske, along with other executives, congratulated Major Events Coordinator Jeff Levin for holding a successful Culture Shock, although Levin was not present for the meeting because he left as the Senate waited for more senators to arrive. On behalf of Levin, Matoske said he spoke with Purchase College President Thomas J. Schwarz and other campus officials about the future of Culture Shock, saying that the festival has transitioned from a campus event into a publicly anticipated festival. According to Matoske, Schwarz and other officials said that if the event does not become a more closed environment that does not allow so many off-campus visitors, soon, it would no longer be a campus event.

One of Matoske’s proposed solutions that he said was only one of the many solutions to be considered was possibly implementing colored wristbands that students and their guests could only acquire, therefore making it easy for campus police to permit the correct people to the event. He also said he was working with Schwarz on reallocating policemen from the stage area to other areas on campus so that the front gates and academic buildings could be better protected.

In his executive report, Collymore said he was speaking with Schwarz about an initiative that could possibly remove cigarettes from the campus bookstore.

A representative from the Purchase Garden attended the meeting, asking senators if they would submit their senator initiatives of $300 to the garden so they could fund bigger projects to better irrigate the garden. Four senators agreed to donate their initiatives to the garden.

In her executive report, General Programming Coordinator Becky Sellinger said she allocated some of her left over money to the Hometown Cabaret, and that Roller Disco and Night of 137 Pizzas would be this Friday, April 24, in The Stood. Unlike last year, Sellinger said this year’s event would feature more Purchase students performing rather than larger acts.