The last Senate meeting of the spring semester was a little brighter than usual.
Senators passed a bill providing $7,200 in funding to the American Solar Energy Society during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Members of the group will travel to Madrid, Spain, in June to compete in the Solar Decathlon, a sustainable house-building competition.
UF and Virginia Tech are the only two schools representing the U.S. in the competition.
The group raised more than $180,000 in its own fundraising efforts but asked the Senate to provide the additional funds so more students from the group could participate in the competition.
With the extra funds, 25 students from the 125-student group will be able to go on the trip this summer.
“We’ve done a lot from our side, so we’re just asking for a small part,” said Derek Winning, an architecture doctoral student working on the project.
The group is constructing a completely sustainable house, imitating a traditional Florida cracker house, which will run only on solar energy.
Unite Party Sen. Ben Meyers said that, during their trip, the group will represent UF as well as the entire nation.
“I know that the cost seems like a lot, but they really represent our school very well,” Meyers said.
Senators also passed a resolution commemorating the 10th anniversary of Pride Awareness Month.
