Baruch College’s Undergraduate Student Government met for its 11th senate meeting of the spring 2023 semester on May 2.

Table members made changes to the USG 2023-2024 budget. This included adding $412,218 to the programming budget.

The motion passed 15-0-3. Incoming executive board members abstained.

The operating budget was increased per the Office of Student Life’s request to account for furniture in the new temporary student space in the former Baruch Bookstore. The furniture would later be relocated to other areas on campus. The motion passed 15-0-3.

Chair of Clubs and Organizations Jessica Yauri presented clubs that hoped to be chartered.

The Fan Society, led by President Khushi Gupta, introduced itself. The club was created to allow fans of music and various artists to come together and share their interests.

They’ve currently held a general interest meeting, a karaoke event and a collaboration event alongside current Baruch club, Books and Beyond. The motion to charter the group passed 14-3-0.

The second club, Checkmate Baruch, introduced itself. The club described itself as a place for members of the chess-playing community at Baruch to spend their time.

They plan to establish a chess team that can compete with other colleges. The motion passed 12-5-0.

Venture Capital presented next and introduced itself as a group for students studying finance, business and technology among other majors to learn how to build their own start-ups.

They hope to hold more networking events to introduce students to alumni and other people in the industry, and fundraising events to give students more hands-on experience.

Venture Capital also held two general interest meetings and gained signatures from 15 interested students. Their two off-campus events had about 25 people in attendance. The motion to charter the club passed 17-0-0.

Baruch’s Strategy Group spoke. The president, Nafis Noor, presented.

The group stated that it aims to help students build strategies using case studies and real-world problems to apply that methodology to their careers.

Its club requirements include attending at least 80% of club meetings, participating in events and spending a minimum of five hours outside of regular club meetings. The motion passed 12-5-0.

Blockchain introduced itself and presented its group.

Alongside the mission statement, the group presented relevant engagement statistics on its social media, and said  as a research-driven group, it will allow students to participate in research projects and workshops. The motion to charter the group passed 14-0-0.

The Ecuadorian Club, which hopes to connect and form a community for the Ecuadorian population at Baruch also passed 17-0-0.

The motion to charter the Albanian Society, which was created to welcome both the Albanian community and introduce others to their culture, passed 17-0-0.