After the Emergency Support Team (EST) narrowly lost its funding for the upcoming fiscal year, Student Union’s Executive Council voted 4-2-0 in favor of providing EST an avenue to fund its operations for the next academic year. Now, whether the motion passes rests on Senate and Treasury’s vote tomorrow.

Should both the majority of Senate and Treasury vote in favor of the Executive Council’s proposal, EST will become an Executive Entity of SU — meaning they could siphon funds for next year through appealing to SU’s Executive Council directly. 

SU Vice President of Engagement Ella Scott said that if EST were to be an Executive Entity, SU would have more oversight of EST’s budget. As a result, EST may not be funded at the $70,000+ the organization previously requested for the upcoming year.

Scott wrote in a statement to Student Life that EST plays a crucial role on campus and should receive funding to continue its work. 

“The Exec Council believes that EST provides essential and low-to-no cost services to the entire student body,” Scott wrote. “Given that the University is not willing to subsidize the remainder of their budget, we find it pertinent to provide an alternative funding source to cover essential costs for the next fiscal year.”

Although a student vote denied EST its $70,000+ budget, several students, such as junior Mira Ugwuadu, said they value the work that EST has done on campus.

“I have used EST before, and I think it has been helpful,” Ugwuadu said. “Plus, I know a lot of people in EST, and I think it’s a good resource to have on campus, especially with training EMTs.”

First-year Nikhil Chadha was let down by the student body’s decision to initially deny EST funding.

“They’re a pretty helpful organization on campus,” Chadha said. “I think it’s kind of disappointing.”

Further articles will be published as this story develops.