The fight for ASG funding will intensify at the Nov. 3 Senate meeting when student groups petition the Student Activities Finance Committee’s supplemental funding recommendations released Wednesday.
The recommendations have left some student groups wanting more.
Leaders from the 22 student groups requesting extra funding will have the opportunity during next Wednesday’s Senate meeting to appeal the recommendations made by the SAFC before final amounts are set.
NU students should pay attention because the money being allocated comes out of their pockets via the Student Activities Fee, said Emma Kerr, Associated Student Government financial vice president.
“That’s why students should care - it’s their money,” the Weinberg senior said.
The committee made recommendations for $205,494 of appropriations from a pool of $230,000. The total initial requests totaled $386,789.
ASG President Claire Lew said the process can be difficult because funds are limited.
The gap didn’t affect everyone. The Asian Pacific American Coalition, the Dolphin Show, WAVE Productions and Rainbow Alliance were among the student groups recommended for all or close to all of what they requested.
In contrast, Northwestern Alternative Student Breaks was one of four groups recommended for no supplemental funding. ASB requested $1,620 to cover an honorarium for the speakers it brings to campus.
“That doesn’t surprise me, but we still have the chance to fight for it next week,” said Kyrsten Brown, program director for ASB.
A&O Productions Chairman Barry McCardel said the target set by student groups was purposefully overestimated. The Communication senior said A&O’s request represented what would be a best-case scenario for their winter programming.
The group received $100,542, less than half of the $203,926 in supplemental funding they had asked for.
Kerr said she agreed with McCardel about the reality of funding.
“It’s next to impossible to fund everyone at their highest tier because you’re dealing with a finite amount of funds,” she said.
But McCardel said he was less concerned with how much they were given and more bothered by the SAFC’s rejection of a key structural modification the group had proposed.
For the last four years A&O has hosted two comedians, said Drew Deitch, A&O’s director of speakers and special events. McCardel said that marks a precedent in student interests.
Currently, however, they receive a lump sum amount, requiring self-budgeting to have enough money left over to put back in the funding pool for a second event.
Revising the process to split the appropriation in two would help A&O meet three important goals, McCardel said. Programming could be improved by moving one speaker to Winter Quarter to avoid an already event-busy Spring Quarter, he said. Agent negotiations could also begin earlier, resulting in better acts at lower prices.
“It’s going to be the same amount of money, just more time,” he said.
Despite his disagreements with SAFC’s recommendations, McCardel said the group’s relationship with ASG was by no means contentious. He said it was the committee’s job to be fiscally restrained, and now is the time to go straight to the students.
“Senate gets what Senate wants,” McCardel said. “They’re in charge of appointing SAFC.”
If a majority of the Senate votes in favor of the group’s petition, the recommendation will be overturned.
Lew said the process is “a healthy part of what keeps funding accountable.”
“The whole point is to do what’s in the best interest of the students,” Lew said. “And it’s really students that are ultimately in control.”
Whether the Senate votes for or against A&O’s proposed procedural change and the petitions of other student groups, McCardel said they will continue working to best represent the student body.
“We take pride in representing student interests,” McCardel said. “If we can do so by saving money, then that’s what we’ll do.”
