Members of the Residence Halls Association's General Assembly established a policy Wednesday not to fund events in which religious groups try to preach to MSU students.
The bill that was introduced sought to amend RHA's bylaws to disallow funding to religious groups and religious events.
RHA President Ernest Drake said the bill was aimed at avoiding the allocation of funds to events that preach to residents.
"Basically, we would not fund events that would evangelize a specific faith," he said.
Initially, however, the bill faced some trouble. Representatives voted to consider groups and events separately, as some people felt a group that held an event of a non-religious nature should be funded. That portion of the bill failed, 4-18-2.
When the assembly came to the events portion of the bill, some representatives felt there could be confusion between events that educate and promote culture and those that seek to preach. The assembly also rejected that section of the bill, 7-8-9.
In the middle of the meeting, however, Council for Students with Disabilities representative Derek Wallbank, with the help of other representatives, drafted a bill he said would eliminate confusion.
"The reason we offered the (second) bill was because we felt it wasn't clear the first time," Wallbank said, when the assembly passed the bill, 21-2-2. "We wanted to make sure the intent came forward, and it did."
ASMSU officials said they have no specific policy denying funds to religious organizations. ASMSU is MSU's undergraduate student government.
The last two student groups seeking funding from RHA also presented their events Wednesday. Black Student Alliance received $1,000 for its Jazz Dinner in the Union and Hubbard Hall Black Caucus got $500 for its Soulful Roots program that was held in February.
Budget committee chairman Mike Playford said if money were to remain at the end of the semester, it would be rolled over to next fall's budget. But that is one condition Playford would prefer to avoid, he said.
"To keep money, it would be kind of selfish," Playford said.
The assembly did allow future sessions of RHA to have an emergency fund. Representatives voted, 22-1-1 to amend the bylaws to create provisions for the fund, which receives 0.5 percent of RHA's $22 tax. The fund could only earn $3,000 per year and is capped at $30,000.
Policy committee member and Williams Hall representative Tom Edwards explained the necessity of the fund.
"Things happen, and we've got to be prepared when they happen," he said, adding that the cap was created so that the account wouldn't gain funds indefinitely.
Plans for the fund were outlined in Drake's speech of intent during his presidential campaign. He authored the bill himself.
Also, it was announced that Wallbank will serve as a liaison between MSU's food services and RHA. The position previously was vacant, and Wallbank was appointed by executive decision.
