Last week Niteskool was one of three student groups to receive only enough ASG funds to pay their phone bills.
Tonight its members hope to change that, arguing at the Associated Student Government meeting that senators should ignore the Student Activities Finance Board’s recommendations and support their 17-year-old group and grant their requested $11,600.
“Without funding, Niteskool as we know it will not exist anymore,” said Isaac Feder, the group’s co-executive producer. “It would be really difficult to work without ASG’s financial support.”
Niteskool, which has received ASG funding since it started in 1984, each year produces a CD and a music video featuring Northwestern bands. Although they received a $6,000 grant from the School of Speech this year for the video and could probably raise the remaining $1,000, organizers say getting ASG funding is crucial to the production of the CD.
Without the CD, they would have a hard time selecting a song for which to produce a video, said Feder, a Speech junior.
“Only with that professional recording can we make the music video,” Feder said. “Otherwise, bands would have to pay for their own studio time.”
ASG Financial Vice President Carson Kuo said Niteskool did not receive funds for its CD in part because members planned to distribute free copies to freshmen in September, hurting potential profits for the group.
But Niteskool is willing to not distribute the CD for free if it means getting funded, said Katie Gavula, co-executive producer.
“Basically we’re at the whims of ASG and SAFB,” said Gavula, a Speech senior. “It’s their money and they have the right to say ‘Not cool guys – you need to be making a profit.'”
If Niteskool does not win its appeal tonight, Gavula said, they would consider seeking the help of Studio 22, with whom they collaborate on the promotion of their music video.
Leaders said the benefits Niteskool brings to campus, including concerts featuring bands on their CD, would make it a shame for the group not to get funding.
“It provides an alternative night life to students,” Feder said. “It’s like an alternative to the Greek system. If you don’t want to go to fraternity parties, you can go hear Niteskool bands.”
If A&O Productions receives the $58,000 they have appealed for, it will make the appeal process harder for Niteskool, Gavula said.
“The bottom line is we’re both entertainment groups and we don’t have that going for us,” she said. “If A&O gets their $58,000, they’re not going to turn around and say ‘Here’s another $11,000 for Niteskool.'”
Members of College Democrats also plan to appeal for $7,500 to fund a speaker. Although they only received partial funding for one speaker while College Republicans received funding for three, group president Colin Proksel said SAFB’s decision makes sense.
“They’ve been on campus longer than us,” said Proksel, a Weinberg sophomore. “It makes sense they’re getting more money.”
Proksel said a “liberal following on campus” gives College Democrats a good chance of winning their appeal.
Also seeking to increase the “leftist message” on campus is Peace Project, said Peter Micek, the group’s president, who plans to make an $1,800 appeal for their newsletter, “The Protest.”
“We’re not asking for all that much money,” Micek said. “I think we have an important role in campus politics and getting the voice of part of the student body heard.”
