The NJIT Student Senate has successfully filled a vacancy in their executive board these two past weeks. Amanda Azer, previously the Student Senate Secretary, was elected to become the new Vice President of Finance(VPF). The Vice President of Finance holds a key roleinStudentSenate andis an integral liaison toallclubs at NJIT.
Azer is now tasked with working with administration to properly spend the annual budget Senate receives, and has the responsibility ofallocatingfunds to student clubs, therefore ensuringthat all financial resources are used for the improvementof the NJIT campus.
Azer attributes her successful campaign to the platform she ranon, andher acknowledgement of the in-house issues senate e-board must collaborate on to address and improve. She also creditsherdetermination to investigate NJIT’stuition in order to learn the exact areas tuition is allocated towards for the benefit of thestudent bodyand her emphasis on equipping clubs with information on how to properly spend their budget.
“I acknowledge that people have always said ‘Where is Senate’s money going? What are they doing with it?’” Azer states, when discussing the public’s lack of enthusiasm for Senate’s budget management.
“The problem is people will talk about us not showing how our money is spent, but they won’t just come and ask us,” Azer notes.“[Most of]our budget goes towards clubs. We budget for every single club on campus, and we want to give all clubs as much money as possible to be able operate, so a large amount of our money goes there.”
After that? “Webudget for several events that we personally host for students, such as Casino Night. Then, we have a small operating budget for purchasing office supplies,such as paper and ink,so we can print out flyers for our events and for clubs. But a majority our money goes towards student organizations.”
For now, Azer recognizes that one of her priorities as Vice President of Finance should be to improve the processclub organizations mustgo through to access their money.
In terms of fulfilling GDS orders, Azer credits her progress on that issueto her collaboration withNJIT’s new Director of Student Life,Kristie Damell. The two have received approval from GDS Catering Director Thorin Aiello to give clubs direct access to the GDS ordering system and their foodbudget. Regardingthe reimbursement process, Azer and Damell will join forcesagain to look at both old and new budgets to ensure that all students have been reimbursed for their purchases.
“I want to make more information regarding club finances transparent,” Azer says,apropos another goal she seeks to realizeas VPF. “My intention is to make an accessible handbook that provides information for all clubs to learn about their line budgets, help them understand what they can do with their money, what they can ask for, etc…Maximizing the presence of the Student Senate Moodle page, having quick PowerPoints ,and the [aforementioned] handbook posted would make it easier for all clubs to understand how to utilize their budgets to the fullest.”
The position of Vice President of Finance was vacant since this past summer, when elected official Sophia Mufti resigneddue to personal health reasons. Mufti expressed her optimism with this crucial position now being filled.
“I am super happy [about the results of the VPF elections]. Amanda was my finance assistant and she was always amazing at the job. I really believe that she can do great things as the new VPF and I really hope she continues the vision Isaw for the position,which Ihave no doubts she’ll be able to do as she’s incredibly capable.”
