This year, the budget appeals for all student groups ended earlier than they usually do, leaving many student groups out in the cold for funding their programs this year. This whole process ended in mid-September, when many groups might not have even had a meeting yet, let alone time to look at potential budget appeals. The appeals process ended a month earlier this year than it did last year, a significant amount of time for groups trying to put themselves together for the coming year.
Though this situation is not necessarily any individual’s fault, everyone involved must make an effort to make sure that this type of thing does not happen again. All students at the University have a right to make sure the money that they are spending on their student activities fee goes toward activities they are involved in, rather than just groups that understand how SU’s budget appeals work better than other groups.
First of all, the University might want to look at how it funds student groups. Our administration has shown it has no problem spending money (e.g. on electronic door locks, plasma TVs, etc.), so perhaps it could consider putting this money toward something that students will actually appreciate. One possibility is that the administration could supplement the activities fee that students pay by a small amount, helping problems like this be avoided in the future.
SU would also do well to reconsider the way it assigns funding for groups. The defense that SU doesn’t fund food through initial budget assignments because “SU is not a meal plan” is ridiculous. Food, as any college student will tell you, is a crucial component of most activities and programs on campus, and the fact that it is not initially accounted for by SU is a policy that should definitely be reconsidered.
Also, the whole process of appeals itself seems a little too complicated. Why couldn’t student groups just be given the money that they need for programs in the first place?
SU eventually needs to divide up all the money anyway, so it might be more effective to do it all at once. Furthermore, perhaps SU should wait until they’re certain that all groups will have enough money before committing to big budget events like bringing Lil’ Jon to WILD or having Cornel West visit campus later this year.
This should serve as a wake-up call. Considering SU’s $1.75 million budget, not having enough money for student groups to hold regular programs on campus should not be an issue.
Hopefully all parties involved, from student group treasurers to SU to the administration, can work together to make sure it does not happen again.