One resolution passed and three failed in Student Senate’s Dec. 3 meeting.

Votes were cast on topics ranging from requiring a vote on appropriations from Senate’s budget of less than $100 to extending a Senators time on the floor from two to five minutes, establishing a Homecoming dance and on the idea of eliminating the count of abstention votes as negative vote.

A resolution calling for all monies spent by Senate to be sent to a vote was shot down 20-4 with five abstentions. If passed, even standard refreshments served at Senate meetings would be subject to the rule.

Matt Day, Senate parliamentarian, objected on the grounds of the hassle of sending forms through the appropriations committee for small amounts.

“If you guys have small appropriations – it’s just one of the benefits we get as Senators being able to allocate small amounts of money whenever it is necessary,” Day said. “It’s not about the items.”

Johnathan Saunders, freshman senator was one of the architects of the resolution.

“Whether it be a dollar or a thousand dollars this money comes to us to allocate for it’s purposes,” Saunders said. “It’s not really about where it’s going and what it’s for – it’s the point of the matter that any amount of money should be brought before us in any matter.”

Senators said a resolution to extend from two to five minutes the set time for Senators to speak on resolutions would add only time and not necessary debate.

Saunders, who put forward the resolution, said the resolution was meant to be a two-prong solution giving Senators sufficient time to advance their views and not taking time from others by requiring them to yield their time. The resolution failed 17-9 with two abstentions.

Senators discussed the possibility of adding a dance to the list of Homecoming events and how it would be funded.

Senators said attendance would be an issue. CAB President and senior Senator Jeff Walker said CAB already has all the events it can handle during the Homecoming week and funding could be an issue.

The measure failed.

Senators also voted on lifting the rule making an abstention vote count as a negative and this measure passed.

The three appropriations sent before Senate will wait until the first meeting of the spring semester, but the funds – if approved – would count as fall appropriations explained sophomore Senator Howie Lindeman.

“Anything submitted to this point will still go on this semester so if you’re a double-dipper T-shirt person you’ll have one for this semester and one for next semester,” Lindeman said.

This was Senate’s first meeting with a new roll call voting system.