To co-direct or not to co-direct?

That was the first question for the Student Association Senate at Sunday night’s meeting.

The co-director positions were first proposed by SA President Troy Caldwell and chief of staff Jesse Perez.

“The appointment of the co-director positions makes life in the executive branch much easier and you will see the accomplishments throughout the year,” Caldwell said.

The senate voted on and approved the positions, despite some question among senators.

During this time, Rod Moyer, co-director of organizational development, addressed the senate.

“I am here to assure you that we do have a budget like the directors and work just as much,” Moyer said.

Sen. Stephen Kulovits disagreed.

“I think it’s a waste of the students’ money,” he said.

As president, Caldwell will appoint eight co-directors who must be approved by the senate.

After voting to create the positions, the senate proceeded to vote on a bill that will include the co-directors in the SA budget. As part of the SA, the co-directors will receive a minimum hourly wage of $5.25, payable up to 10 hours a week. This will be paid from a pool of $6,500 per semester to be added to the SA budget, said SA treasurer Karega Harris.

Also part of the agenda was the approval of the budget guide. This, too, was met with questions. Harris and Sen. Jeff Meyer recognized some subjective details within the guide.

To begin the budgeting process, the senate voted to use the current version. A revised issue of the guide will be ready in two weeks, Harris said.

Some student organizations have asked for $15,000 in supplemental funding, but on Harris’ suggestion, the senate approved $5,000 to each organization.

Sunday’s meeting also was time to appoint committees. Senate speaker Kevin Miller appointed each of the senators to one of five committees.

Last week, the senate decided to wait to hear from director-hopefuls Ed Quinn and Sarah Hammer. Both were present for Sunday’s meeting and were confirmed to positions of director of cultural affairs and director of athletics, respectively.

At the beginning of the meeting, the senate heard from Sue Willis, executive secretary of the University Council.

She told the senate that she was organizing meetings in response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Two seminars have been scheduled thus far. Starting at noon Oct. 31, Thomas Barone, an assistant professor of education and psychological foundations, will speak on multicultural education. Then, at noon Nov. 7, assistant professor of political science Chris Jones will speak about U.S. foreign policy. A location for the seminars has not yet been determined.

The last bit of business of the meeting was the creation of the director of advertising. Last week, the validity of the position was in question because according to the SA bylaws, the position is reserved underneath the director of transportation.

The senate voted on and approved the position. Courtney Crawford was then named the director.

The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday in the Holmes Student Center’s Clara Sperling Skyroom.