Funding, funding and more funding for student groups was the primary focus yet again at the Government of the Student Body meeting Wednesday night.

One of the main points of discussion at the meeting was the proposed increase of the budget cap on student conferences. The bill, which passed after some debate, sought to increase the amount allocated for conferences on the budget from $2,500 to $5,000.

Mike Pogge, LAS, expressed some skepticism about the bill.

“We are already giving over $170,000 to conferences — $5,000 is only $2,500 more than the cap,” Pogge said. “I think we already give enough money to conferences, and there are other sources besides GSB to approach for funding.”

GSB President Bryan Burkhardt also said he was a little skeptical about the bill.

“I definitely want to see as much money as possible go to the students, and I want to see it spent for the students,” he said. “[I]t is easier for students to see the tangible benefits if the money is kept on campus.”

However, Burkhardt also said he thought the senate made a well-thought-out decision in passing the bill.

“All the senators made very good points. Ultimately, it is the students’ money, and if the students request money the senators need to hear them out and evaluate their request fairly,” he said.

“The senate has made their decision,” Burkhardt said. “My concern will be if the senate begins to misappropriate some of these funds, but I do not foresee that happening.”

Anthony Bateza, RCA, said the issue may be the discretion of the senate, not the amount of money for the cap.

“I’m in favor of the bill — I think it’s good to raise the cap,” he said. “Instead of arguing about putting a cap on how much money GSB can allocate, let’s be more selective about who we give the money to.”

Senators voted to pass the bill, agreeing to be more reserved about the allocation of funds.

The senate also passed a bill seeking $1,000 to help Burkhardt combat the proposed 5.2 percent tuition increase. The money will be put toward obtaining feedback from the students regarding the tuition increase, Burkhardt said.

“We have a postcard campaign in process right now,” he said. “What we are doing is trying to invite people to take advantage of this and fill out comments on postcards.

“We want personal reactions and personal testimony from students on why they think the increase is too high. It’s one thing for us to say it and another thing when a larger number of students echo our response,” he said.

Although it may be a difficult battle to wage, it certainly is worth the try, Burkhardt said.

“Like [minority senator] Marcia Johnson said in the previous article, you definitely won’t win if you don’t try,” he said. “It is always a larger issue than just tuition when dealing with the Board of Regents. It shows the Board of Regents and administration that students are aware of issues affecting them and are willing to take action.”

Other events during the meeting included the seating of Tchi Mhan Kim, senior in hotel, restaurant and institution management, as the new international senator. Jay McLaren, senior in agricultural business; Kim Murphy, senior in political science; and Ryan Glanzer, senior in finance, also were seated as off-campus senators.