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Volume C, Number 40	University of Southern California	Monday, March 10, 1986
Senate absentees cause Program Board freezes funds
postponement of \oting Deficit causes directors to curb planning
By Tania Soussan
Staff Writer
Absences from the Student Senate meeting on March 5 caused a delav in voting on pending constitutional amendments which require a vote of three-quarters of the seated senators.
Eleven of the 32 senators were absent from the Wednesday night meeting.
Although the senate has had lower attendance this semester than last. Senate President Pauline Ng said, "I think it's the best attendance we've had in the last three years I've been here."
The Student Senate constitution reads, "After a senator misses three meetings during a semester, the appropriate speaker will bring the senator's name to the attention of the cabinet for a decision on whether to put the senator's name on the agenda for senate action, which includes possible removal from office."
Dede Brown, a Greek senator, has missed five of the seven meetings; Mark Decker, a student community senator, has missed three; Scott English, a Greek senator, has missed four; Roy Ashford, a graduate senator from the Medical School, has missed three; and Carolyn Winters, a graduate senator for the School of Education, has missed four.
However, none of their names have come up before the Executive Committee as the constitution requires.
The senate claims that the Executive Committee redefined "absences" last spring so that senators who miss meetings for academic, health or emergency reasons will not be penalized. However, the minutes of the meeting at which this decision was made were not available, and the current constitution does not reflect the change.
Brown's and English's absences were due to class conflicts, and Decker was attending conferences the three times he was absent, said Derrick Isa, the undergraduate speaker.
Graduate Speaker Chris Vivo said Ashford, a third-year medical student, missed the meetings because he was taking final exams.
Winters, however, has an attendance problem, he said.
"She'll be there for a stretch, then she's gone for a stretch."
Vivo told Bumes that he was going to bring Winters' name before the Executive Committee, but Bumes discouraged him because it was not worth it so near the end of the term, and it would look bad, Vivo said.
"It was two weeks before elections, so he (Burnes) didn't want this to come up," Vivo said.
Of the seated senators, an average of 22 percent have been absent from meetings this semester; last semester the average was 12 percent, according to senate attendance records.
"It's important for them to go to the senate meetings, but it's (Continued on page 8)
By Gordon Gary
Staff Writer
A $30,000 shortage in the Program Board's administrative account has forced its directors to stop planning for additional events this year.
This will primarily affect the concerts and speakers committees under the Campus-Wide Events division of the board, which will lose a total of $21,000 when their monies are rechanneled into the administrative account.
Board Chairman Michael Palmieri said the deficit occurred when the actual costs for an office copier, a new telephone system and rented typewriters turned out to be much higher than estimated.
Out of an administrative budget of $37,500, handed out at the beginning of the year by the Student Senate's allocation board, the board ended up spending $13,555 on the new phone system and $5,280 on rental typewriters, the new copier and other office equipment.
Prior to he office expendi-
tures, board members and advisers went to a regional conference, sponsored by the National Association of Campus Activities, which cost $2,540.
In late January, board members went on another NACA retreat, this time to Washington, D.C., for a national conference.
Palmieri said this would be the third year in a row that the board would come out with a deficit if it were not for the transferral of funds.
"In November, we did have $5,200 to go to the national conference. That's when we made the reservations,'' Palmieri said.
But after the conference, the bills for the office equipment started "piling up," and greatly
Student Senate election results
These are the unofficial results of last week's Student Senate election, according to Joe Sciau, senate elections commissioner. The official results will be announced on March 19, after a seven-day complaint period. Other graduate schools will hold individual elections later.
COMMUTER
Helen Chu Steve PJ Anderson Sara Hirsch Donald Skip Sutton
STUDENT COMMUNITY
Danielle Torres Karen Lester Danielle Potter Michael Palmieri
RESIDENCE HALLS
Wally Bobkiewicz Joyce Chao Larry Hroch Marguerite Martins
GREEK
Tiffany Smith Darren Friesen Anthony Gatti Betsy Ross
LAS GRADUATE SCHOOL
Ahmad Ghaith Al-Sowaidi Mohammed Sarker Tracy Charette Michael Aronson
exceeded the preliminary estimates, Palmieri said.
"The one that surprised us was the copier costs," he said, adding that the board had estimated costs at $300 a month but found themselves with a bill for' $1,000 a month. The board has since installed an audit system that has reduced costs by 75 percent.
Palmieri says administrative policies established by various campus offices are the primary causes of the deficits.
Estimates for services by university facilities such as Physical Plant are generally too low and are not placed on different purchase orders from their actual costs, he said. As a result, organizations such as the Program Board designate scheduled expenses on their financial records, but are billed for a much greater cost in the end.
Actual bills for expenditures do not come until after the money has been collected, necessitating a different entry for both the estimate and the debit on financial records, he said.
While the process of reserving monies from the speakers and concerts committees for the administrative deficit is in motion, programs that have already been scheduled will continue to the middle of April, but no more will be scheduled, Palmieri said.
"We're ending six weeks early, and things are still scheduled for the various other committees, but not for concerts and speakers," said Erin Foley, the board's finance chairwoman.
"We don't have any money left for this semester," Palmieri said.
In previous years, the board has carried a deficit to the next year, but Palmieri has ruled out that option for this year.
Palmieri said this would be the third year in a row that the (Continued on page 8)
JOEL ORDESKY DAILY TROJAN
Some students may complain about the quality of food sold on campus, but this dog appears to have no complaints. Whether or not the dog actually enjoyed the food is another matter. We’ll never know.
ATO fraternity sets strict guidelines on alcohol use
By Katherine Dyar
Staff Writer
To "heighten the level of awareness. . .regarding the dangers of alcohol abuse," the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity has adopted a resolution on risk avoidance, setting down strict guidelines for its members on the service and consumption of alcohol in their houses.
The guidelines, set down by the High Council of ATO's national headquarters, require that alcohol not be sold at any ATO social function and say that if alcohol is present, it must be served by a professional bartender.
The chapter officers are also required to make sure non-alcoholic beverages and snacks are available at any party.
In addition, chapters are forbidden to lend their name to any event sponsored by a beverage distributor or brewing company w'here alcohol is given out as part of the promotion.
Kerry Armstrong, associate executive director of ATO national headquarters, said, "The main reason we are doing this. . .is because we are concerned about the alcohol environment on college campuses.
"We thought it appropriate to address the problem in a meaningful, tangible way," he said.
Ty Miller, president of the ATO chapter at the university, said another reason the resolution was introduced was that "all national fraternities and sororities are having trouble getting insurance coverage. ... So they're trying to find ways to be less liable."
Armstrong agreed. "It is a double whammy," he said. "Society is becoming more and more meticulous and insurance companies more careful. ... It creates a volatile situation for any student group.
"We're not going to solve any problems completely," he said, "but
(Continued on page 3)