A bill funding a fraternity’s scholarship ball sparked a heated debate and accusations of racism by senators at Wednesday night’s meeting.

The issue stemmed from a funding bill for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., a traditionally black fraternity.

Debate over the bill lasted for about an hour, featuring a series of questions for Curtis Creighton, representative of the fraternity.

The bill, which ultimately passed with a vote of 23-10, called for $800 to help fund a scholarship ball hosted by Omega Psi Phi.

Some senators questioned the ball’s benefit to ISU.

“I don’t think it’s right to give out this kind of money to this kind of stuff. It’s frivolous,” said Jillene Hamill-Wilson, non-traditional.

John Hamilton, business, said the ball was a good idea. “This is the type of thing we should be funding. It is showcasing ISU, and is a benefit to the whole university,” he said.

During a comment session near the end of the meeting, GSB President Rob Wiese said he was disappointed in members of the senate for their negative attitude toward minority groups.

“I’m tired of seeing any group put through that,” he said. “It makes me so mad. I’ve sat back and watched every debate, and they treat minority groups different — worse.”

Wiese said senators discriminate by letting their experiences affect their decisions. “They have to change and open their minds,” he said.

“When the senate treats groups like they did, it shows that it is because of race or ethnic background or sexual orientation,” Wiese said.

Other senate members backed Wiese’s observation of racial preference after a different bill passed.

A funding bill for a suitcase dance to be held during Veishea, involving a $500 request from the Richardson Court Association and VIBES, passed 29-4 with little dispute.

Both groups generally are not associated with minorities.

Yasmine Blackburn, off-campus, said the senate was focusing too much on whether the group was worthy of funding, rather than the event.

“With the suitcase dance, you knew the group was already capable,” she said.

Blackburn said she believes people judge or question minorities subconsciously.

She said part of the problem is a lack of awareness.

“A lot of the senators have no idea who the minority groups are,” she said, adding that senators don’t question whether the money is beneficial to the function or the community, but whether the group itself deserves it.

“I don’t traditionally see this happen with white groups,” Blackburn said. “They never get the third degree.”

Blackburn said some minority groups feel asking GSB for money is pointless because they are more likely to be turned down.

“They always have to justify more than anyone else and are subjected to more than they should be,” she said.

Another funding bill that received a lot of dispute from the senate was last year’s Big Eight Conference on Black Student Government, which was held at ISU.

“There were over 1,000 people coming, it had been held for over 20-some years and it was a clear benefit for the university,” Blackburn said.

Despite objections from some senators, the bill passed.

“Everybody [in the senate] kept saying they didn’t see the benefit,” Blackburn said.

Improving the situation would require the senators to recognize their actions, she said.

“There have been instances when I have thought a lot of senators were [racist],” Blackburn said. “The first thing is to look inside themselves and see where it is possible to treat a group differently and try to remedy that behavior.”

Not all of the senators shared Blackburn’s observation.

“I felt that some people had jumped to the conclusion that the people who had voted against the bill [did so] for racial reasons,” said Matt Loney, off-campus.

Loney said he didn’t realize Omega Psi Phi was a traditionally black fraternity. He said he thought Creighton merely was a black member of a predominantly white fraternity.

“I thought a lot of the money was going toward a social function, which is something that GSB does not do,” he said. “Things got turned around, and people took it in a different way. I’m kind of disappointed in that.”

Hamilton, business, said although he thinks GSB is not racist, it is tough on unconventional groups such as the greek system and minorities.

“Things they are usually asking for money for are a little out of the ordinary,” he said.

Hamilton added that funding is not withheld from minority groups and that the only activities GSB questions are greek events.

He cited the debate the Dance Marathon bill received a few weeks ago before it was passed, which delayed the meeting until after midnight. A special senate meeting for the bill, which dealt with a predominantly white greek fund-raiser function, was called for the following Friday morning.

“I see the point where, if you are a greek group, every time you come to the senate you get hassled and would assume the senate doesn’t like greeks,” Hamilton said. “It’s the same thing with minorities.”

Hamilton said the senate needs to “step back and look at things rationally and logically.”