Student Association : Funding to be based on groups’ past successes
More than 90 student organizations are vying for a slice of the $429,442.17 made available by the student activity fee to host events this spring.
These organizations submitted requests totaling more than $877,000 to Student Association in hopes of bringing speakers to campus, hosting dance parties and putting on a number of other events. Organizations find out if their requests were met at Monday night’s SA meeting at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.
‘We want to say yes as much as possible,’ said Neal Casey, SA president. ‘But the problem is, with double the amount available being requested each year, it’s not an easy job.’
Undergraduate students pay a $190 student activity fee each year, totaling more than $2 million. That money goes to SA, which divvies it up in several different ways. SA’s Finance Board, which now consists of seven members and one comptroller, recommends which events will be funded each year based on a series of guidelines.
At Monday’s meeting, the assembly will vote on the Finance Board’s recommendations. The organizations are notified in advance of the board’s suggestions. Students are encouraged to attend Monday’s meeting, especially if they are unhappy with the Finance Board’s recommendation, Casey said.
If the assembly votes down the recommendation, it is referred back to the Finance Board for reconsideration. The Finance Board has more than $200,000 set aside for appeals, said Jeff Rickert, SA comptroller. This is much higher than in previous years because not all of the $429,000 was given away in the initial process.
‘This semester there was ton of technical or clerical issues,’ Rickert said. ‘My guess is that in appeals that will be rectified.’
Many organizations are denied funding on technical reasons. Groups must attend a hearing with the Finance Board at which they can explain their requests and answer questions. If they miss their hearing or do not fill out paperwork properly, they cannot obtain funding. The board has other guidelines in place, such as how much mass appeal the event will have and whether other organizations are planning similar events.
This year’s financial vision has a more structured system that allocates funding based on previous success. No system can be perfect, Rickert said, but he thinks this year’s vision helps eliminate arbitrary decision making.
Although Rickert said he does not envision any decision or organization dominating the conversation, ‘You can never really know what exactly is going to take place at this meeting on Monday night.’
Published on November 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm
