After much debate, senators partially approved the initial $3,485 funding request from Students for Sustainability to fund a trip to a conference in October.

Students for Sustainability, a program under the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, will send members to attend the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, an annual national conference held in Portland, Ore.

Senators were hesitant about approving the requested funding amount. ASUA Sen. Brooke Serack questioned the change in the amount requested from the past.

“It’s a $1,000 increase from last year’s approved funding amount,” Serack said.

Andrew Falwell, undergraduate director of Students for Sustainability, said that the increase is partially a result of the increased number of students who are going to the conference. Senators then questioned the reasoning behind sending an increased number of students to the conference.

ASUA Sen. Ellen Dunn said she is in favor for sending UA students to this conference. She suggested that ASUA fund a portion of this trip given the increase in requested funding. Dunn also announced that the UA Green Fund, a fund through Student Affairs and Enrollment Management coming from student tuition, is contributing to send UA students to the conference.

ASUA Sen. Michael Finnegan then asked the Students for Sustainability club representative to explain the benefits of attending this conference.

Falwell said that the conference is an excellent learning experience for the attendees, who are able to share their knowledge after the trip with other members of the program.

“It’s really a catalyst for change we can bring here,” Falwell said.

Finnegan requested a report from group members who attended the conference about what they feel they gained from the experience and how the program at the UA has improved some time after the conference.

ASUA Sen. Joshua Wexler then asked how the presence of UA students at the conference will impact the entire student body.

“All 60 interns will bring back information to share with other university entities,” Falwell said. He also explained how UA attendance at prior conferences such as this one led to the expansion of the UA Greeks Think Green program.

The program we have is bigger than ever,” Falwell said.

The senate then yielded to ASUA Sen. Joe Zanoni, who moved to approve a $2,700 funding amount for the Students for Sustainability trip. This motion was approved by the ASUA Senate.
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