SA Blanket Tax Committee convenes
The members of the Student Association Blanket Tax Standing Committee have been finalized and will review organizations receiving blanket-tax funding.
As of Oct. 8, appointed members include Lovett College freshman Andy Yuwen, McMurtry College sophomore Giray Ozseker and Jones College sophomore Akeem Ogunkeye.
The blanket tax organization officers are Duncan College senior and University Court Chair Brian Baran and Martel College junior and Rice Program Council Treasurer Ronald Foo.
SA Treasurer Joan Liu said the Committee is currently working on submissions and meetings with organizations.
“Our next steps are to meet with each organization’s president, treasurer and sponsor to discuss the submitted documents and any questions the committee has for the organization,” Liu, a Jones sophomore, said.
Liu said the Committee is responsible for conducting the annual review of all organizations receiving blanket tax funding. The Committee is also responsible for accessing proposals to increase or decrease existing blanket tax allocations.
“We are also responsible for providing the Student Association with an understanding and evaluation of how subsidiary organizations’ operations and use of student funding aligns with their individual missions and purposes as well as with the interests of the student body and the Rice University community,” Liu said.
In light of the ongoing Honor Council contingency process, Liu said she does not anticipate any major changes.
“We, as a committee, will review all organizations to the best of our ability in accordance with the Student Association Constitution, and I am confident the blanket tax organizations will do their best to follow the process constitutionally,” Liu said.
Baran expressed a similar opinion.
“While the Committee will be aware of the outcome of the contingency process for Honor Council, its review will be conducted in the same manner as the review for any other subsidiary organization,” Baran said.
More from The Rice Thresher
NOD permanently canceled, Rice strips away-decades old campus tradition
After 50 years of decadence, Wiess College’s infamous underwear party is no more. Born in the early 1970s after a group of Wiess students poured all their alcohol into a bathtub — creating a brew “so potent it removed the varnish” — Night of Decadence has spent years in the national eye. Allegedly recognized as one of Playboy’s top college parties in the nation, NOD has also been subject to mounting scrutiny over alcohol use and an “explicitly dangerous and sexual atmosphere.” Rice has now permanently canceled the public, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman and Wiess magister Flavio Cunha announced in a message to campus June 5.
Rice Mutual Aid partners with student organizations to fundraise for Gaza
Rice Mutual Aid launched a fundraising campaign for Gaza on May 13 in partnership with 15 other student organizations at Rice, including Rice Students for Justice in Palestine, Rice Pride, the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice and the Rice Muslim Student Association. RMA will direct donations towards American Near East Refugee Aid, a non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian aid and emergency relief in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. A day after its launch, the campaign raised over $2,000 according to RMA’s Instagram.
UCourt final case rules SA must revert to prior constitution
The University Court has ruled that the Student Association must revert back to the March 6, 2023 constitution after the proposed constitution amendment was found to have been misrepresented on this year’s ballot, University Court chair Beck Hall announced on April 24.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.