The University of Wisconsin Associated Students of Madison’s Student Services Finance Committee convened Monday and met with Latine Student Union representatives for LSU’s eligibility hearing.
LSU President Natalia Badillo, Vice President Diana Bonilla and Treasurer Milagros Amesquita presented on behalf of the organization. They covered LSU’s history at UW, outlined their mission statement and goals, and discussed requests for executive board salaries, programming and general expenses.
Badillo discussed the recent growth of LSU membership and said LSU aims to keep community engagement high this year and next.
“We need to serve as advocates for our Latine-identified students, educators, faculty and staff regarding their needs on campus,” Badillo said. “In order to be successful, we strive to make this organization a place that provides resources, space and a support group for all Latine students.”
Much of LSU’s organization is centered around community events and programs. The representatives presented an overview of the events, including the Latine Ball, the Latine Professionals Panel, the Advancing Latinas in the Workplace program, the Conchas and Conversation program and professional development workshops.
The representatives presented an increase in board members’ hours to account for the rise in new members, which would include two more hours per week for the president and vice president.
LSU’s requested budget summary for the fiscal year 2025-2026, including requests for supplies, food and beverage, space rental and professional services is $53,229, a 4.19% increase from their 2024-2025 budget.
After LSU’s presentation, SSFC held a question and answer period and many of SSFC’s representatives’ questions regarded the LSU budget’s focus on food and beverage. SSFC Representative Alex Beer pointed out that food and beverage made up about 60% of the total budget.
Badillo acknowledged that food and beverages are a central part of LSU’s organization, saying they try to emphasize cross-cultural and intercultural learning in many ways, including through food. Badillo also reminded SSFC about the issue of food insecurity within the Latine community at UW.
“A big thing on campus that we’re seeing with the Latine community is food insecurity, so that is a priority of ours to provide food that is culturally relevant to our events to help alleviate some of that,” Badillo said.
SSFC’s meeting agenda also included an open forum, an eligibility hearing for The Peoples Farm, nominations for the SSFC Union Council Representative, voting on PAVE’s eligibility and reports from committee members.
SSFC will vote on LSU’s eligibility and budget on Thursday, Oct. 17.
