SSFC reflects on 2010 semester at final meeting

April 23, 2010

SSFC_MM — Student Service Finance Committee members reminisced about the year that was at their last meeting of the session. SSFC Chair Brandon Williams (center) also cast aspirations for next year, announcing his candidacy for Associated Students of Madison chair.[/media-credit]

A student government committee highlighted their best and worst budget work this year while looking toward future sessions during their last meeting Thursday.

Associated Students of Madison Student Service Finance Committee Chair Brandon Williams started by reading a personal letter to the committee. He commended the members and discussed some of the positive experiences and challenges to SSFC over the past year.

At the end of the letter, Williams announced his candidacy in running for chair of the ASM next year as well.

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“Unfortunately I won’t be coming back to SSFC, but I look forward to running for ASM Chair and reaching out to the future SSFC leadership to create a closer relationship between the two groups,” Williams said.

The group did encounter some challenges over the past year, however. According to Williams, the biggest challenges were determining non-allocable budgets, which they did not have direct say in, and dealing with the larger budgets of General Student Services Funds (GSSF) groups. The non-allocable budget is funds not given to student-run groups.

During the opening statement, he also made sure to advise the future representatives of SSFC to always remember the big picture, be responsible with the position and to know the balance between services and funding that must be maintained.

After the opening letter to the group, the committee discussed their positive experiences throughout the year as well.

The representatives enjoyed their ability to communicate and work together effectively throughout the year amid tough, large-scale budget meetings.

One thing SSFC representatives stated as a goal during the meeting is that they would like to put out monthly or bi-monthly reports to have better communication with student groups next session.

The committee also discussed how this session was a learning process for everyone.

“It’s really interesting to see how much you didn’t know about your student government. I’ve learned so much since freshman year and I like that I can discuss more student issues now,” SSFC Rep. Andrea Nichols said.

According to SSFC Advisor Joanna Gurstelle, the next session of SSFC will most likely meet May 6.