The University of Wisconsin Student Service Finance Committee met to hear funding proposals for Sex Out Loud and Mecha de UW–Madison Thursday. SSFC also voted against funding the National Rhetoric Society’s UW chapter, who’s proposal was heard last week.
The funds for these student organizations are allotted by the General Student Services Fund. This fund is paid for by the Student Segregated Fee and permits Registered Student Organizations across campus to fund services and academic programing that aren’t covered in regular classroom instruction, according to the GSSF website.
The first organization to present was Sex Out Loud, who’s goal is to advance positive and healthy attitudes about sexuality by providing sex-positive education and advocating for related causes.
The Sex Out Loud Chair Mia Warren, and Financial Coordinator Maya Biskowitz laid out their request for a budget renewal, which was “almost completely on par” with the previous fiscal year at around $126,000. This is a roughly $5,000 increase from last year due to their proposal of creating two new paid positions.
These positions, titled “chair in training” and “financial coordinator in training,” would be transitory positions that would eventually become full-time.
One program which Sex Out Loud sought funding for, “Miss Pole,” provides free pole dancing to students.
” … [Pole dancing classes would] Decreases stigma surrounding pole dancing, and sex work,” Warren said.
The next group to present was Mecha de UW–Madison, a student-run organization founded in 1968, which encourages involvement in community, politics, higher education, culture and history for Chicane students at UW through art.
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Mecha said new leadership changes and past difficulty revising their budget as factors contributing to underspending their allotted budget in the previous fiscal year.
In the last portion of the meeting, the 10 present voting SSFC representatives voted on moving a budget vote for the National Rhetoric Society’s UW chapter, who’s proposal was heard Oct. 9. RSA requested $63,995 for the 2023-2024 school year.
In a vote of 8-2, the committee voted not to move forward with the budget vote. SSFC Rep. AJ Butler voted against the motion to move forward arguing that the increase in funds was unnecessary.
“They did not represent anything different from university programming,” Butler said.
But, Rep. Aiden Culver was in favor of the budget vote, believing that the organization provides students invaluable resources that are not able to be accessed elsewhere.
“Well I think they made a very strong case for why both undergrad and grad students interested in rhetoric cannot pursue that interest with campus resources,” Culver said.
The committee will vote on the motions to advance the proposed budgets for Mecha de UW Madison and Sex Out Loud at their next meeting Oct. 16 at the Student Activity Center.
