Senate unanimously passed a $300 proposal Monday night to send two students and one faculty member to the National Forensics Association Tournament on April 17-22 in Nashville, Tenn.

The SPU speech and debate team had requested $700 for sophomores Heather Hamilton and Christine Wilson and assistant professor of communications Shannon Scott to attend the tournament.

According to the Finance Board recommendations on the proposal, the amount allotted was "cut down because it benefits individuals more than the entire community."

Hamilton qualified for three speech events and will be competing nationally. Wilson will be going along as an observer.

Hamilton said that the experience she acquired at the tournament would be brought back to the SPU community through the annual recital that the forensics team holds each spring.

Senate funding is slightly different for this event, since the debate team is not an ASSP club, but a co-curricular activity, Scott said in an interview prior to Senate.

Since there is no way to predict how many students will qualify for nationals in a given year, very little of the team's budget is allotted towards this specific competition, Scott said.

Though he would have liked to receive more money, he appreciated the committee's efforts to help with other ways to find funding, Scott said.

"They were very helpful," Scott said.

Additionally, Senate gave $365 from the general fund toward Falcon Idol 2008.

Auditions will be held April 14-18, with callbacks on April 21. The date of this American Idol-like competition will be April 25.

Finance Board cited past success as a reason for recommending that the proposal pass at the full amount. Falcon Idol is entering its third year, fine arts Senator Amanda Kurdy, who co-sponsored the proposal, said.

The proposal's cost breakdown estimated 200 attendees, she said. Last year's Falcon Idol saw approximately 230 people in attendance, she said.

Finance Board had suggested finding an ASSP club or group, such as KSPU radio station, as a partner for the event in coming years.

The winner of Falcon Idol 2008 will receive a trip to the nearest tryout city location for the next season of American Idol, Kurdy said.

Though none of the previous Falcon Idols have made it to Hollywood, Kurdy said that since it's only the third year, "there's definitely still a lot of potential for that."

Senate raised the question whether Falcon Idol is a hall council event or an all-campus event, since it will receive funding from both ASSP and Residence Life. ASSP president Daniel Miller said that the times of the event and tryouts were an attempt to cater to commuter students and campus residents.

The past two winners were both commuter students, Kurdy added.

Additional Business:

Senate unanimously confirmed juniors Mike Zetterberg and Beth Azarow as next year's Campus Student Ministry Coordinators (CSMCs). The confirmation process was held in open session.

Members of the Student Ministry Coordinator staff were present for the confirmation. Zetterberg is currently an Ashton Hall Residence Life Ministry Cordinator (RHMC), and Azarow is the RHMC for Moyer Hall.

Current CSMCs Stacey Donnell and Tyler Gorsline introduced both Zetterberg and Azarow to Senate and expressed confidence in the leadership abilities of both.

Donnell expressed her faith in both Zetterberg and Azarow to work together and complement each other well.

Senate unanimously confirmed junior Josh Anway as the 2008-2009 youth coordinator for "group," SPU's Wednesday night worship service. The confirmation process was held in open session.

Jeff Jordan, dean of student life, visited Senate to ask for student ideas and input concerning a new student center to either expand upon or take the place of Weter Hall. Jordan also mentioned that the process for the new residence hall, Irondale, is underway.

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed will speak on campus Thursday, April 17, as part of College Civics Week, social science Senator David Ghan said.