The University of Wisconsin chapter of Engineers Without Borders may get another chance to plead their case after the Student Services Finance Committee denied their eligibility for General Student Services Funds earlier this week.
According to the Student Judiciary ruling made Nov. 6, EWB was given the choice to make their presentation once more before the SSFC for GSSF eligibility this session.
“We’ve worked hard to get this chance,” EWB President Gavin Weir said. “We feel that we are eligible for funding and we are eligible to be a GSSF group again.”
EWB was deemed eligible for GSSF in the last biennium and received funds for the first time last year.
According to the EWB website, the organization “seeks to create sustainable engineering projects in impoverished areas, both in the United States and abroad.” Much of the organization’s budget is allocated to travel costs associated with these projects.
“It’s not a right to be a GSSF group; not every group on campus is a GSSF group, but we do have a direct service that is accessible to everybody on campus,” Weir said. “We’re excited to be able to plead our case one more time, and hopefully they will favor us this time.”
Weir said the group has contacted SSFC inquiring what the next move will be.
While SSFC Chair Kurt Gosselin acknowledged the Student Judiciary ruling gives EWB a second chance at GSSF eligibility, he added, “We haven’t decided as SSFC if we’re going to appeal the ruling or not yet.”
EWB, which was originally denied eligibility because of issues related to the organization’s direct service, may rework the focus of its presentation for the second hearing before SSFC, Weir said.
“Knowing more now, we’ll probably concentrate on a few different services that we provide, but we will pretty much do the same thing,” Weir said.
If SSFC decides not to appeal the Student Judiciary ruling, Gosselin said EWB is limited to what it can change within its original presentation to appeal for funding.
“For a group to change what they say their direct service is probably wouldn’t be the appropriate thing because then they’d be telling us, ‘Well, before we were going to do this, but now we’re actually doing this,'” Gosselin said. “My guess would be that they fixed the presentation to stay the same, but there might be some details that could change.”
Gosselin said SSFC will make a decision whether or not to appeal by Nov. 13.
Weir said EWB currently has five-year commitments to five international engineering projects. Without GSSF eligibility, the group’s role in the projects will be considerably scaled back.
“If we aren’t able to travel, then we’ll definitely be losing out on one of the greater services we provide to students,” Weir said.
Another opinion, also released last week, dismissed a claim that SSFC violated viewpoint neutrality when it denied eligibility for the Legal Information Center, a student organization providing legal information and advice to individuals seeking help with a legal issue.
