September marked the most popular month the SAFEwalk program has seen since its inception, SAFE Nighttime Services representative Jane Goemans told Student Service Finance Committee members at the organization’s funding hearing Monday night.
The SAFE services program was one of several groups that brought increased-funding requests to the table at the meeting.
SAFE Nighttime Services, known throughout campus for the SAFEride and SAFEwalk programs, which provide students a free escort home late at night, presented their cases for an increased budget before the committee.
According to Goemans, the program has become increasingly popular, overwhelming the current budget.
Goemans described the tight situation the program faces.
“I was not prepared for the increase we saw,” Goemans said. “Therefore, we are not budgeted.”
Goemans also explained that the SAFEride cab program, which is set up primarily to assist students in getting home from bars and parties when they are outside the range of the SAFEwalk program, will be unable to continue in its current form without additional funding.
“We are looking for additional support to maintain the same cab program we had in the past,” she said.
Scaling back this program would affect many students, Goemans asserted, because the number of students using the cab service has been growing exponentially since its inception.
Also seeking increased funding from the SSFC was the Asian Pacific American Council. The group contended that an additional Program Coordinator position was necessary, bringing the number of coordinators in the organization to four.
Despite attempts by various SSFC members to decrease the budget and cut the number of vice chairs from two to one and the number of Program Coordinators from the proposed four to two, the APAC representatives maintained the vice chair and program coordinator positions. The major concession the group made was a decrease in the number of liaisons from 10 to seven.
SSFC member Rob Welygan said he was happy with the final decision made on APAC’s proposal.
He cited the proactive nature of the organization and its eagerness to aid non-Asian student groups in their missions as reasons to grant the funding request.
“To see that there is an organization doing this, I think that is just fantastic,” Welygan said.
The Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group also sought an expanded budget of over $75,000, which was subsequently passed after minor reductions, bringing the total closer to $70,000.
Also presenting budget requests at the meeting were the Vets for Vets Organization, seeking a higher budget to pay the wage of a recently staffed limited term employee, and the Student Leadership Program, seeking funds to hire a third coordinator.
Decisions regarding the funding requests of these groups will be made at Wednesday’s meeting.
