ASG launched a social media campaign at the Senate meeting Wednesday night to petition the Northwestern administration to add more student representation to an undergraduate task force.
The task force convened for the last time in 1988 and focuses on the undergraduate academic experience, making recommendations for the next 20 to 25 years. In 1988, five students were included in the task force; this year, only one student will be a representative, the vice president of academics from ASG.
ASG President Noah Star and Executive Vice President Christina Kim introduced an online petition and email to send to the Provost's Office demanding more representation.
"We don't really see how it's legitimate to discuss the undergraduate experience with such limited representation," Star said.
Currently, 12 faculty members and six administrators will also sit on the task force, said Riko Opsahl, the group's only student representative and vice president of academics. Requests to add more students to the task force have been denied so far.
Kim emphasized that undergraduate students and faculty collaborate on a daily basis in classes.
"There's no reason why we can't work in tandem; that's the expectation in the classrom," she said.
Senators emailed the petition to their constituents during the meeting.
The Senate also reviewed the 2015-2016 budget for A-status student groups, as presented by the SAFC, and awarded some student groups additional funds from a leftover pool of $58,925.29. The money that was not added into the budget will serve as supplementary funding in the fall, which SAFC will evaluate and distribute for events.
Dance Marathon, in its first year as an A-status group, received an additional $1,200 to rent porta potties for dancers, after testing out a smaller rental this past winter and finding that it helped reduce lines for bathrooms. However, the group was denied two requests for funding of $2,000 and then a smaller request of $1,200 to pay for its online fundraising website.
For Members Only received an extra $1,969 to fund their spring concert next year in a close vote of ten for, eight against and nine abstaining. FMO did not put on a concert that it had received funding for this spring, due to trouble scheduling a venue, but that funding will carry over to next year.
Other smaller funding proposals were passed by the Senate; Alternative Spring Break received $150 toward financial aid for students, McSA received $200 to take its Al Bayan magazine online and to print more copies, the UNITY fashion show received $300 to cover unexpected venue costs for this year's show at the Hotel Orrington, NCDC received $200 to go toward their fall and winter dialogues and Thai Club received $100 toward construction materials for their winter event.
Funding for groups is increased in a tiered system, so the process of review and amendments by the Senate can provide smaller increases in funds between tiers to groups, SAFC representatives said.
The Senate will review funding for B-status student groups at their meeting next week.