The Government of the Student Body senate voted to overturn the president’s veto of a bill to take money from the Fall Event Account at Wednesday’s meeting.

The bill was originally approved by the senate March 12 with a vote of 20-7-0 as a means of balancing the $175,000 budget deficit.

GSB President T.J. Schneider exercised his veto power the evening of March 23.

In an interview on Sunday, he said he decided to veto the bill because the $18,000 should come from the Special Projects Account.

He said if the senate was to take funding from the Fall Event Account and the removed money is not replaced, the Fall Event will fail. It will be more difficult to transfer money back into the account than it is to take the money out, Schneider said.

President Schneider and Vice President Joe Darr created the Fall Event Account in Fall 2002.

Speaker of the Senate and Towers Residence Association Senator Tony Luken made the initial motion to override the veto. “Every dollar used to protect the Fall Event is a dollar taken away from student organizations,” he said.

Business Senator Casey Harvey said the GSB Finance Committee told student organizations during the regular allocations process they would not be able to receive funding for events because of the budget crisis. The Fall Event is an activity hosted by GSB, he said.

“How does it look if we tell student groups they have to give up their events when we can’t give up ours?” Harvey said.

Off-Campus Government Senator Raye Taylor was one of four senators who expressed opposition overriding the veto.

The Fall Event is for all students, unlike the capital items which would be funded from the Special Projects Account, she said.

“GSB has a much bigger membership [than other student organizations] — 28,000 members,” said Vice President Darr.

Taylor also said the event would have the opportunity to be more successful in future years because a new event isn’t usually successful in its first year.

The final vote in the veto override was 23-4-2, and 23 votes make up exactly two-thirds of the senate, the amount needed to quash the president’s veto.

President Schneider said he is not upset with the decision of the senate.

“That’s the way it will be, and it’s all part of democracy,” he said.

Schneider said he didn’t feel discussion on the bill was adequate for reflective decisions to be made. The veto wasn’t intended to express disagreement, but rather to increase discussion, he said.

Schneider said he “commends and respects” the decision of the senate.

“I’m glad they took a stance and made a decision,” he said.