This was the first individual appeal to come in front of Treasury, which began allowing that type of appeal last year. It passed unanimously.

The bus will depart from St. Louis on Friday, Oct. 29, arrive in time for the rally on Saturday morning and come back either the same or the following day, depending on bus regulations.

The trip, 15 hours each way, will cost students $35. Spots will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis sometime next week.

Courtesy of Comedy Central

Other appeals were granted for The Washington University Political Review (WUPR) and the Washington University Debate Team. Dance Marathon’s request for T-shirts and lanyards was rejected.

The rally, organized by Jon Stewart to accompany Stephen Colbert’s satirical “March to Keep Fear Alive,” was announced a few weeks ago and will take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Stewart’s rally aims to promote understanding among people of different political ideologies, as well as protest ineffective political discourse.

The competing rallies have been discussed internationally in news outlets ranging from the New York Times to the Oprah Winfrey Show to the Guardian.

At the meeting, senior Reuben Karchem, the trip’s primary organizer, explained why he chose to pursue funding from SU Treasury as opposed to politically based student groups.

“In terms of [the] Wash. U. political world, there’s nothing that’s really bipartisan focused,” Karchem said. “Especially the weekend before the election, their number-one priority is get-out-to-vote activities and going door to door in St. Louis.”

Members of the Treasury spoke out in favor of the appeal. Many said that they appreciated that it could reach out to students largely uninvolved in campus activities and give them the opportunity to participate in a major national event.

In addition, Karchem plans to hold viewing parties of The Colbert Report and The Daily Show in upcoming weeks. He also hopes to follow the trip with a post-midterm panel discussion and a slideshow presentation depicting the rally.

“I thought we would have some political science professors bring in some outside people [whose] focus is more on college students and the youth vote, and maybe discuss the results of the election and how we affected them,” Karchem said at the meeting. “And then I’d like to show pictures to show everyone who stayed on campus what they missed out on.”

In moving forward, Student Union executives will help Karchem with logistical planning and publicity for his programming.

“We set up the Student Initiative Appeals process to ensure that individuals receive the help and resources they need,” said junior Cody Katz, Student Union’s vice president of public relations.

Other appeals were not as well received. In an 11-3 vote, Dance Marathon’s appeal was denied after continued debate over the nature of its giveaways. Student Union does not generally fund T-shirts for student groups, and had made exceptions for Dance Marathon in the past because the shirts alleviated a security concern. This year, however, a Dance Marathon adviser informed the group that this concern could be addressed with wristlets.

WUPR was given funds to print a third issue of its magazine this semester. According to senior Nick Wilbar, WUPR’s co-editor in chief, printing another issue will allow the Political Review to extend a broader net of political and social discourse on campus.

In its appeal, the Political Review’s leaders pointed to an expansion in programming that has changed the nature of the group.

“We’ve grown and transitioned from a group that ran on submissions to a true organization,” Wilbar said.

The debate team was given approximately two-thirds of the funds required to attend two tournaments this semester. Its leaders had wanted to attend at least four in order to effectively extend the team’s reputation among prospective students.