Student Union introduced two new funding categories for SU-recognized student groups last week.

Until Feb. 5, Category II groups have the ability to opt-in to a new Category III, which automatically receives a flat budget of $350 a semester. Groups that were formerly housed in the old Category III were shifted down to a new Category IV that has the same parameters as their old category.

Graphic by Brandon Wilburn

The idea for more categories was floated earlier last month. According to VP of Finance junior Shelly Gupta, SU decided to implement the new system after realizing they likely wouldn’t be able to until the start of the next calendar year.

“If [Category II student groups] choose, they can opt-in to either of the new categories, but that’s on them,” Gupta said. “Essentially, we did make changes and they will affect groups that want to get changed by the process, but we think by doing it this way, at least for now, no groups have to be affected by them if they don’t want to be.”

Gupta says she expects no more than 50 current Category II groups to move to the new Category III. TEDxWUSTL co-president junior Elizabeth Waggoner says they elected to move into the new category because their semester-to-semester costs were consistently low.

“Our group’s main thing is one event every year which is a pretty high-cost event that we have to appeal for that we would never put in our budget just because things are so in flux until a few months before the event,” Waggoner said.

Usually, Category II groups can only submit appeals up to $1,000. Because TEDxWUSTL is further classified as a group that brings speakers to campus, they are exempt from that limit.

“We appealed a few weeks and it was a little over $6,000…and we have donations from other campus areas. I guess we could budget for [the TEDxWUSTL event], but sometimes we have speakers from out of town and things are very hard to plan a year in advance,” Waggoner said. “That would be quite difficult. So, I feel like we’ll always appeal for it and then our semesterly costs are pretty low because we’re having just group meetings, so it made sense for us to go.”

Groups in the other new category, Category V, won’t receive a budget but will still have access to SU resources like $300 of printing credits and room reservation privileges. Gupta said that no student group is currently in this category.

“I know there are a lot of groups who don’t use their money now, who don’t submit budgets, they don’t use the 150 dollars as a [Category] IV now…,” Gupta said. “That could be somewhere where maybe groups who are new groups and they get placed into SU, they could start there…Or, we could work to identify groups that don’t use their money and use that money for something else and put them in that category.”

Formerly Category III, now Category IV, student groups receive a flat semesterly budget of $75. Swing Theory member senior Rachel Brace said that the new funding categories don’t address any of her current concerns since there are still limits on what groups can spend their budgets on.

“The new budget process does not address either of Swing Theory’s current difficulties with the way budgeting occurs, as our purchases are either costumes or more expensive one-time purchases like practice mats,” Brace wrote in a comment in Student Life. “We would still be required to submit requests for extra funding, or do our own fundraising as SU money cannot be spent on team costumes.”

Gupta said that she sees the changes as being a way to address complaints from smaller groups who say the allocation process can be arduous if they have smaller budgets.

“It’s no secret that the groups don’t like budgeting, I see why it’s a hassle for groups that only get $200 or $300 every semester, so I think it shows students that we’re listening to them,” Gupta said. “I’ve been in SU for three years and I’ve always heard that budgeting for small budgets [might not be] worth the time anymore and I think this is a step in the right direction to meet students where they want to be met.”