By: Logan Peterson, petersonlo@mnstate.edu

After being elected to Vice President of Student Senate at the previous week’s meeting, former chair of the legislative and internal affairs committee, Marcus Mergen, chaired his first meeting on Jan. 24.

The meeting started out with a brief discussion in the public form lead by former Student Senate advisor, and current Assistant Director-Leadership & Organizations, Steve Fox.

Fox’s discussion centered on the financial status of the reserve fund. This served as a preface to Treasurer Prakriti Shrestha’s motion to transfer $45,000 from the reserve fund to the Travel and Supplemental Funding Budget.

 This amount would refill the account, which was allocated $ $106,000.00 at the beginning of the academic year. Fox explained that there is $228,041 currently in the reserve fund, and recommended that Student Senate motion to move the funds to the Travel and Supplemental Budget fund.

The reserve account, Fox explained, is the amount of money allocated but not spent by student organizations, minus any money that was fundraised or otherwise collected by the group. Over the last few years, the money the reserve funding rose by roughly $22,000 in Fiscal year 17-18, $4,000 in Fiscal Year 16-17 and $40,000 in Fiscal Year 15-16.

Fox recommended that the Student Senate move the $45,000 recommended by Treasurer Shrestha, but mentioned that at least $50,000 should remain in the reserve account at all times.

The Senate voted and approved the motion to transfer the funds. Fox explained that after the motion passed it would have to be approved by President Anne Blackhurst.