The Student Services Finance Committee heard MCSC’s internal appeal and also approved a budget of more than $80,000 for the Campus Women’s Center’s 2015-16 fiscal year. The committee also held the Student Leadership Program’s budget hearing.

MCSC Internal Appeal 

Tensions remained high as MCSC appealed for a budget freeze for SSFC for one fiscal year and zero funding.

MCSC representatives asked questions from the committee to be repeated multiples times and SSFC members complied, however, at one point Chair David Vines asked, “Did you not hear it?” and MCSC memeber Libby Wick-Bander responded, “Did I stutter?”

Wick-Bander said SSFC was not prepared when they had made the decision not to fund MCSC, as they had not been provided with all the materials and had also violated policy.

SSFC representatives questioned how any of the complaints Wick-Bander brought forth could have changed the committee’s final decision. Vines said according to ASM bylaws, lack of preparation by an organization is not grounds to grant an appeal.

SSFC Secretary Dylan Fiedler said none of the criteria MCSC presented would have changed the overall decision. SSFC Rep. Justin Bloesch also said none of the arguments presented by MCSC changed his original vote from a ‘no.’

However, Rep. Brett Ducharme said although he agreed there had been some bylaw violations on SSFC’s part, those violations were not enough to overturn the decision.

SSFC did not grant MCSC another eligibility hearing.

Campus Women’s Center funding decision

SSFC passed a final budget for CWC at $82,265.70 by a vote of 8-0-4.

Committee representatives spent almost an hour discussing “miscellaneous” line items, striking items and moving money to different areas of the budget.

Vice chair Ian Malmstadt expressed concern on miscellaneous line items in CWC’s budget that did not specify where exactly the money would be allocated. There were two “educational activities and miscellaneous” line items listed for $1,900.

“If we give out a miscellaneous amount of money then the group could essentially spend that on anything … something that we don’t necessarily want to fund,” Malmstadt said.

SSFC representatives chose to reduce funding for CWC in multiple areas of the budget.

The committee removed $3,000 from the honorary speakers line item. Rep. Devon Maier said attendance was not very high for speakers and it was not part of their direct services. SSFC also struck $970 from costs related to transport and hosting speakers.

SSFC also eliminated $400 from the second miscellaneous education line and $1,600 from advertising, although that number still remained at $2,000 more than the previous year.

Members also changed all student position hours to 16 hours a week during the school year and eight hours a week during the summer months.

CWC had originally presented a budget of $88,635.70.

Student Leadership Program budget hearing

SLP, an organization that provides leadership building activities to groups, presented a budget for $55,953.00, which is a decrease of about $13,000 from last year, SLP Finance Coordinator Troy Henkel said.

The only increase in funding SLP requested was in a printing and photocopying item line.

SSFC representatives did not ask SLP any questions about their budget.