For Northwestern Associated Student Government, the Fall Quarter brings Student Organization Finance Office reforms, Senate elections and meetings with the administration about last year’s Senate legislation.
Beginning this fall, the Student Activities Finance Committee will implement its long-awaited plan to digitize SOFO, switching from paper transactions to the NUFinancials website.
The goal is to make student organization finance more accessible to students, according to Medill sophomore and SAFC Deputy Co-Chair John Sisco, a former Daily staffer.
“When the rest of Northwestern’s finances are handled online, accountants can check off on a purchase digitally, remotely, overnight, and funding transfers can also happen overnight digitally,” Sisco said. “This is us catching up with the times and, to be frank, the 21st century.”
SESP junior and ASG Co-President Caleb Snead said SOFO will release a training program for student organization treasurers this week.
This year, the Senate is also responsible for allocating funding from ASG grants. The ASG Executive Grant, which awards $23,000 per quarter to student groups, will accept applications starting in the next few weeks. On Oct. 20, the Senate will allocate $5,000 to student groups with its New Student Organization Support Fund.
Prominent legislation passed last year includes the People’s Resolution to divest from Israeli institutions, the Pride House resolution to establish LGBTQ+ affinity housing, a resolution for NU to retract the John Evans Study Committee report and a resolution to mandate crisis response training for students and faculty.
After the Senate passed this legislation last year, the senators and co-presidents plan to meet with University administrators to implement these resolutions and improve communication between them and student groups, according to Snead and fellow Co-President Weinberg junior Ty’Shea Woods.
“The first (goal) is engaging with the incoming class, student leaders and the administration, just to make sure that we are well-informed on what the student body needs,” Snead said.
Despite there not being an active funding cycle this quarter, Sisco said SAFC will expand its curriculum for student organizations to prepare them for funding applications in the spring.
“We want to make sure that we’re working toward further education and understanding what our student body feels, what our student presidents and treasurers are feeling, how much of a time commitment it is for them, and making it easier for them,” SESP sophomore and SAFC Deputy Co-Chair Gauri Adarsh said.
Student organizations that received SAFC allocations in Spring Quarter should receive money in their SOFO account in the next two weeks, according to Sisco.
Sisco, Snead and Woods said a main goal for the upcoming year is to increase transparency and facilitate communication between the student body and administration.
“Whenever you have questions about our workings and what student groups can expect from us, we want to have an open dialogue with student groups at all times, because, ultimately, our role is to serve you,” Sisco said.
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