The DASB Senate Financial Committee have decided to ask the DASB Senate for a donation of $12,000 to the measure G and H campaign.

This decision comes after the De Anza Student Body Senate was asked to consider donating $19,000 to the campaign by board member Patrick Ahrens. Several questions were raised concerning the legality of the donation with public funds.

According to the California Community College Student Affairs Association, the donation, which would come out of the De Anza Student Body Senate’s special allocations fund, can be used to fund a campaign, as long as it is a non-partisan campaign and the senate votes to do so.

But the senators cannot use their student government platform to encourage the community to pass the measure or promote the measure further than endorsing it and donating to it.

Previously, in the 2010-11 school year, the senate decided to donate $10,000 to the parcel tax that was proposed, but ultimately did not pass.

“They did all of their homework prior to coming to our senate meeting,” said Hyon Chu Yi-Baker, DASB Senate adviser and faculty director of college life and judicial affairs officer.

Measure G and H aims to collect $898 million out of a bond and parcel tax in order to update De Anza College’s facilities and address issues such as student housing and mental health counseling.

In addition to addressing legalities, the Financial Committee considered the impact that donating the $19,000 would have on its special allocations fund.

The special allocations fund currently has around $25,000 in reserve, which are used for unexpected costs throughout the school year. If the DASB Senate chooses to donate the $19,000, they would be left with around $6,000 for the rest of the school year for any other projects they choose to fund.

“Events on campus, like athletics and black graduation, they’re not going to be able to be funded,” said Faizan Miya, a DASB senator.

The Associate Students of Foothill College have already committed to donating the full $19,000, and Ahrens is asking for a matching donation.

“We know that this is a large ask,” he said. “(It) would be a huge investment to show the community that we have a united front.”

Student trustee Genevieve Kolar also pushed for the DASB Senate to donate the full $19,000.

“Anything that we want to improve for De Anza, or even just support and expand for future students, it’s pretty contingent on this,” she said.

The DASB Senate will vote on if they want to donate the $12,000 proposed by the financial committee on Feb. 5 at their weekly DASB Senate meeting.

Yi-Baker wants them to consider the impact that this measure will leave behind as they graduate from De Anza.

“Something I’ve shared with our students is, What do you want your legacy to be known as?” she asked.