Alternative Student Breaks, One Step Before and Mayfest emerged as the biggest recipients of Wednesday night’s Senate supplemental funding round, which allocated $30,206 in additional funding to nine A-status groups.
The spring funding additions round ended after one Senate session for the first time in several years, with $20,106 left for Associated Student Government to allocate at a later date, possibly to B-status groups. Last week SAFB recommended allocating $892,753 packet to 39 A-status groups. (Read the liveblog here.)
Although ASB received $9,000 of the $10,000 it requested, SAFB account executives opposed ASB’s requests for additional funding throughout the meeting because their request was unnecessary, Account Executive Cassie Witten said.
“We set out the (Student Activities Fee) to fund on a need basis,” the Weinberg senior said. “Without the funding, these groups wouldn’t be able to put on these events. This request would represent a subsidy of 20 to 30 dollars per student.”
ASB members crowded the southeast corner of the room in matching yellow shirts to show their support for the group’s funding request. Site leader Nate West mounted a direct appeal to senators without addressing the SAFB guidelines.
“For programming that has been successful, funding should increased,” the Weinberg junior said. “Given how successful this programming is, there is really no reason that our funding should not be increased.”
Other groups to receive high funding levels were Mayfest, with $5,000, and One Step Before, a group for minority pre-medical students that was allocated $5,295.
College Feminists and the Northwestern Community Development Corps raised opposition in response to their smaller allocations. College Feminists proposed three separate amounts before receiving $2,394 to help fund Sex Week, which the group claimed drew 2,000 students to its events.
NCDC asked for $400 to help fund their Undergraduate Lecture series on Racism, Poverty and Inequality after the provost’s office said it would withdraw its $790 of support, said NCDC co-chairman Max Fletcher.
“The provost specifically told us that we would no longer be receiving funding and to appeal to SAFB for additional funding,” the SESP junior said. “I think it would be hard to spend less money and still put on an equally good series.”
The $400 request was rejected by a voice vote, but NCDC eventually received $250 for the event.
When it became clear toward the end of the meeting that there was still money available, ASG leaders took the floor to urge fiscal restraint.
Executive Vice President Vikram Karandikar floated the possibility of increasing funding for B-status groups with resources remaining from the spring funding cycle.
“I am speaking for 66 groups that are waiting for a chance,” the McCormick sophomore said. “Let’s not fund for the sake of funding. There are other groups that will be here to ask for more money in the fall.”
The Senate heeded Karandikar’s call and left $20,106 for ASG to distribute at a later date.
The shorter funding process was made possible by money left over from former ASG president and Weinberg senior Jonathan Webber’s administration as well as communication encouraged by SAFB, said Seva Rodnyansky, ASG’s financial vice president.
“People were more informed,” the Weinberg junior said. “They knew what they were appealing and there was more money.”
