After spending a year being quietly productive as Associated Student Government executive vice president, Srikanth Reddy finally erupted last week.
The reason: community service groups.
Reddy spoke for about 20 minutes during last week’s Senate funding session on behalf of Alternative Spring Break and service groups as a whole.
Community service groups do not get a large enough proportion of ASG funds, Reddy said. There are about 1,000 students involved in community service groups, he added, but these groups receive only a tiny percentage of the funds ASG has to distribute.
“If 1,000 students are participating in these groups, they deserve a larger proportion than 3 percent,” Reddy said.
After Reddy’s impassioned plea, the Senate gave ASB an extra $4,000. When all was said and done, the five service groups – ASB, Habitat for Humanity, Northwestern Community Development Corps, OASIS and Student Blood Services – all received funding increases from last year, adding up to a total increase of more than $14,000.
ASB initially didn’t receive funding for its winter and spring volunteer trips and alternative weekends.
Carson Kuo, former ASG financial vice president, argued against providing additional funding for ASB because the events would take place regardless of whether Senate funded them or not.
Kuo said Senate earlier denied the Interfraternity Council additional funding for the Greek Olympics for the same reason. Senators said it was more important to give money to groups whose events are contingent upon funding.
“Every year ASB puts on the same amount of trips,” Kuo said. “The trips are going to happen whether they get funding or not.”
Kim Austin, ASB co-director, said that without the funding students going on the trips would have to pick up more of the cost, possibly keeping some poorer students away.
“The funding is to make the trips more affordable to a wider array of students,” Austin said.
Habitat for Humanity saw the largest increase, from $767 to $6,333. The group helps build houses for low-income families in Evanston and nearby towns. Group president Ankita Gandhi said most of the increase will go to fund transportation.
“We have sites every weekend and transport costs are a lot,” she said.
Gandhi said the group also is trying to bring speakers to campus to add to the educational aspect of Habitat for Humanity.
After a few years of having most of its funding needs met, NCDC shot for the moon this year, asking for $28,000 more than last year. SAFB didn’t meet that request but still increased the group’s funding about $1,000 to about $14,000.
NCDC requested significantly more money this year in hopes of bringing speaker and author Jonathan Kozol to campus. Group leaders said Kozol, author of the book “Savage Inequalities,” would open more dialogue on campus about inequalities.
Laurie Jaeckel, NCDC co-chairwoman, said the group took a chance on asking for the $25,000 needed to bring Kozol to campus.
“We’ve had a lot of experience in the past two years bringing speakers to campus, and we thought we deserved it,” Jaeckel said.
This fall OASIS regained its A-status, allowing the group to receive about $4,000 from ASG. They received about $4,000 again this time around.
OASIS is planning on using its funds to bring a speaker in the fall and carry out a campuswide AIDS awareness project in the fall.
SBS got $844, about $100 more than the group requested, for four blood drives and a bone marrow drive.
