Student Senate is a valuable facet of Calvin's community. However, quite recently Student Senate passed a proposal to place new picnic tables near Hekman Library. To carry out this plan, they are designating $5,000 from a donation to purchase new tables. Due to Calvin College’s current financial situation, it does not seem appropriate to allocate $5,000 to purchase and install new picnic tables outside of Hekman Library. As students of Calvin, we seek a future marked by financial prudence and stability. Money should be apportioned to causes that provide appropriate benefits to the institution. While employees face pay cuts and tuition rises, while class sizes grow and programs are cut, spending funds on tables seems to be a foolish proposal. Overall, we believe there is some better way to improve Calvin's campus. Through this petition, we hope to respectfully enlighten Student Senate on the opinions of their student body.

Going a bit further, the purpose of this petition is not to denigrate Student Senate and their decision making process, nor is it to assign the $5,000 to another area of Calvin's budget. Rather, we are seeking a more effective plan to improve our campus.