NEWS
Finance group limits T-shirt, food funding
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by Sean Sullivan
Friday, March 23, 2007
After several issues arose last semester over funding student organizations, a subcommittee of a University of Wisconsin student government funding body voted to limit the amount of money available for T-shirts and food.
A subcommittee for the Student Service Finance Committee, a branch of Associated Students of Madison that allocates funding for many student organizations on campus, met Thursday night to discuss various fiscal issues.
The committee came to an agreement that SSFC had allocated too much money on T-shirts for each student organization requesting them last fall.
SSFC limited funding for T-shirts to $500 last fall, but after a brief discussion, the subcommittee decided to lower the limit to $300.
"I think it's good to have a rule, because this has been all over the place," SSFC representative David Lapidus said.
SSFC representative Kellie Sanders, however, noted that many groups already budget funds for T-shirts without help from segregated-fee money allocated by SSFC.
"Few groups request T-shirts," Sanders said. "A lot of groups buy their own T-shirts."
According to SSFC representative Michael Kelly, many student organizations request the T-shirts to advertise certain events.
Lapidus said he felt that T-shirts were good for identifying group members, especially at large events like the ASM kickoff event, but concluded by saying, "It is just too much."
Since the decisions were discussed at a subcommittee meeting, the official decision will be made at a full-member SSFC meeting later this semester.
Another contentious issue from the fall budget decisions was whether or not student organizations should receive funding for food at their events through SSFC.
Representatives cited the vague bylaws about food and proposed establishing a clause limiting funding to food that serves a "cultural purpose."
Lapidus said the classification was still too broad and proposed a more definite rule, allowing funding only "if it serves a cultural and educational purpose."
Another concern expressed about funding food was the "open door" aspect of the current policy, which results in SSFC handling a large number of requests for funding.
The subcommittee also discussed ways to clarify their bylaws about debate procedures during meetings and redefine rules for extending time limits.
Anonymous (March 24, 2007 @ 2:33am):
Does anyone understand this story? The author did a good job trying to explain the Byzantine Laws of SSFC, but this still leaves the Byzantine Laws of ASM.
- Germain E. Stemme
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