CUSC sets a good example
The council operates before the Claremont Academy Student Council
by Jeremy Levine
Scarlet Staff
At this week’s thrilling Clark University Student Council (CUSC) meeting, 
our leaders were observed by the student council of Claremont Academy, a local high school. Undoubtedly, the professionalism and strong leadership qualities of our council served as a model of how a governmental system operates. In a similar vein, it was proposed that council members sit in on the council meetings of other consortium schools, in the name of keeping abreast of consortium activities and how other councils operate.
On the topic of Worcester itself, the Worcester Committee met recently to begin a plan to get more students involved in events around the city. The first part of this multi-stepped plan is to set up emails about Worcester events. More phases of the plan will be disclosed and implemented in the ensuing weeks.
Cara Gross approached the council this week requesting $275 for a bus to bring students to Occupy Boston for a day. She claimed that the Occupy Movement challenges convention, something that Clark considers to be of the utmost importance. Some members of the Council disagreed, and the Grants Committee allocated $250 for the event.
ONE Campus Challenge requested $350 this week to screen the movie The Carrier, but they did not receive the money. They were unsure about the screening rights, so the Grants Committee asked for this request to be delayed until the next meeting, and the council voted in favor of this delay.
Clark Musical Theater asked for $233.60 for t-shirts for their Rising Stars Program, but that number was dropped to $183.60 by the Grants Committed. The Undergraduate Psychology Committee was fixated on seeing the play Freud’s Last Session in New York City, and they received $530 to do so.
It was discovered, in going over the CUSC budget and noticing some overages on food, that there is no way to audit or fine the council. The Finance committee was asked to make a bylaw to add transparency or accountability to the council. Three cheers for responsible governing!
In the wake of the “What Would You Do With $70,000″ conference, various council members inquired as to what was happening in the next step of this process. Rian Watt and Lisa Johnson, however, were not willing to disclose information about how the money is being used, or how the situation is being approached.
CUSC is excited to announce that there will be a snow sculpture competition in the near future. There will be caroling at the event, and cash prizes will be given to the club who can make the best animal sculpture.
In a continuation of last week’s discussion of reaching out to media groups, Clark Cable Network might be making a CUSC talk show, involving recaps of meetings, insider perspectives, and interviews with council members. There will also be interviews with council members to be published in The Scarlet in the near future. Just one more reason for you to keep reading!
