By: Courtney Lyons, Contributor
On Nov. 17, 2023, the Undergraduate Student Association’s (USA) senate elected Anthony Tripi as the new vice president of business and finance (VPBF), replacing the Scotland-bound Gabby Kaderli.
On top of being an active senator who works closely with other USA executive board members, the VPBF is responsible for chairing USA’s finance board. The finance board is a committee that manages the allocation of student activity fees paid by undergraduate students. Meeting weekly, this committee reviews requests and appeals submitted by different campus organizations.
Tripi has made his mark on the senate, accepting this position after only one semester as a senator and finance board member. One of Tripi’s goals in his new role is to “make the MAAC trip this year available to as many students as possible.” Yet Tripi acknowledged that this feat, among others he will encounter in his term, will not be without difficulty. Amidst potential obstacles, Tripi said, “We need to remember that working together will get us much further than working against each other.”
Reflecting on her term in office, outgoing VPBF Kaderli took pride in her efforts, stating, “The finance board is more active than I have ever seen it.” Kaderli characterized this semester as “productive,” as she and her advisors “looked over the current finance board guidelines and adjusted them to be more appropriate for the evolving economy.” Their adjustments were geared towards sustainability — both budgetary and environmental — by being “less wasteful with T-shirt giveaways and instead diversifying the giveaway types.” Kaderli also said that the finance board has “become more conscious of what clubs are going to do with leftover items after their events are over. For example, if they are going to reuse them or if they are going to lend them to other clubs to be more resourceful.” Although she is studying abroad, Kaderli stated that she is “excited to see what the new semester holds for Canisius, the finance board and USA,” confidently asserting that Tripi will be an “exceptional” successor.