UF’s Student Senate passed three pieces of legislation during its Tuesday meeting.
Resolution 2014-1043 thanked Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature for their actions to benefit higher education.
This includes both the G.I. Bill, which grants in-state tuition to any honorably discharged veteran, and the tuition equity bill, which gives in-state tuition to qualified undocumented students. Senators also thanked the legislature for the allocated $100 million to UF this year.
Student Body President Cory Yeffet called this a “big honor and big win for students.”
Bill 2014-1042 granted $25,000 of funding to the Health Outreach Assembly, a student-led organization that sends faculty, students and physicians to conduct relief missions in third-world countries. According to the bill, the primary recipients of this funding are non-UF students.
Chairman of the budget and allocations committee Sen. Davis Bean called HOA “a great organization on a great track to be self-sustaining.”
This year the organization will receive $25,000, which will decline to $15,000 for 2015-2016 and $5,000 for 2016-2017. After that, funding will cease. This amount is not guaranteed, but SG doesn’t intend to fund more than that.
“HOA does great things around the globe and for the UF name,” Bean said.
Outdoor Adventure Recreation, an adventure club for UF students, also received $2,708 from the allocations committee in Senate Bill 2014-1044 to buy two new canoes.
Former president and current member Nelson Anderson said the group has a trailer that holds six canoes and that not all of the group’s canoes are in good condition.
“Now we’ll have six good ones to fill the trailer,” he said.
Yeffet also announced he had written his first blog post as Student Body president.
“Check back later this week; there may be a second one,” he said.
His posts can be seen at studentbodyprezuf.blogspot.com.
Sen. Leah Miller, chairwoman of the allocations committee, speaks during Tuesday's Student Senate meeting.