It is that point in the semester when it is time for Waynesburg University’s Student Senate to propose their budget and allocations for the upcoming semester.

This semester, the Senate has decided not to ask for any allocations from the university to operate. According to president Luke Diel, the Senate has enough money in their account to serve the student population.

By not requesting any allocations from the university, the Senate has let that  money be put toward other clubs for their use of budgeting.

This cutback to the budget for the Student Senate is a result of a significant decrease in funds needed to operate over the past five years, Diel explained. 

“Prior to me coming to Waynesburg University, the Student Senate spent about $18,000 per year,” Diel said. “I believe my freshman year we spent about $5,000 a semester. When I became treasurer we were doing about $2,500 a semester. Ever since I became the president we cut the budget all the way down to zero dollars.”

Diel expressed that the Senate was able to make these cutbacks in the budget year after year due to the administration working on some of their projects, and cutting back on unnecessary events that cost money. Both of these factors as well as others  are what resulted in the Senate being more efficient in their spending to best serve the students of Waynesburg. 

Tyler Wright, chair of the Budget and Treasury Committee, said that the cutbacks in the budget are due to a new way of functioning that the Senate adopted over the last couple of years.

“Over the years the responsibilities of the Senate kind of shifted. I think there were some areas which we were spending money on before that may not have necessarily been our responsibility,” Wright said. “We shed those things and it transformed the way we were thinking and the way we operated. It really changed the Senate for the better and to be more for the students. It really committed us to improving student life here on campus, I certainly think it is something to be proud of.”

With the Senate’s new proposal of zero dollars for their budget, they feel as if they are running more efficiently while focusing on student needs rather than spending money. 

“Our focus is not on spending money left and right, but maybe our focus is on taking the concerns of students and taking that to the administration,” Wright said. “A lot of times when you are taking problems to the administration it does not involve spending any money. We are at a point now where I think our job and our main goal does not require a lot of money.”