Biola officially kicked off the new school year with its first AS Senate meeting on Tuesday with event recaps and proposals made by service chairs.

Recap of Splash! event

Senior Kelsey Seitz, vice president of services, recapped the event at Splash!, La Mirada’s aquatic center, that took place last Friday and requested feedback from the senators.

Senior Luke Robinson, Sigma Hall senator, said many students were not sure if the event was solely for freshman.

Senators discussed involving Commuter Life in the future to help include both the new and returning off-campus community, most of whom were unaware of the event.

Junior Chris McGee, Stewart senator, said he received positive feedback from male freshmen who enjoyed Splash! and were happy to meet more girls.

Observing this year’s surplus of burritos, senators discussed plans to deal with leftover food at next year’s Splash! event. Senators were receptive to the idea of forming a committee to distribute leftovers at Skid Row.

Desire for more global outreach

Seitz said that the International Students Association is hoping to branch out, reaching both global and local students. The weekly “ISA Prayer Fellowship Community” meeting is every Monday at 9 p.m. in the library conference room, but “ISA” will most likely be removed from the title, in an effort to encourage all students, not just international, to attend meetings.

Request to rename position title was approved

Senior Ryan MacDonald, AS director of religious and academic relations, proposed to change the name of his position from ASDRAR to religious lecture chair on the grounds that people do not know what ASDRAR stands for. MacDonald said both the president and vice president of services requested the name change.

Although proposals are usually allowed time for review before a decision is made, a unanimous vote was approved because MacDonald’s proposal did not request funding.

Budget increase for university clubs

Junior Natasha Cheeley, AS club chair, proposed to increase the budget for university clubs by $2,300 for the 2011 fall semester. The previous director cut the back budget from $22,000 to $18,000 but did not take into account the creation of new clubs, Cheeley said.

If approved, $2,000 of the requested amount will be added to the club funding budget and distributed to over 57 clubs. A cotton candy machine costing $200 will be used for the second day of the club fair, which Cheeley hopes will generate more interest in clubs. The final $100 will be put towards replacing the old advertisement banner.