http://http://vimeo.com/14761994
Chair Brandon Williams introduces ASM
http://http://vimeo.com/14762087
Vice chair Adam Johnson introduces ASM
Grants were awarded to student organizations for everything from traveling to Africa to helping raise funds for international humanitarian relief Tuesday night.
The Associated Students of Madison Finance Committee held its first meeting Monday night and heard hearings for 15 different events and travel plans from student groups.
Finance Chair Matthew Beemsterboer said the money they award is from ASM’s internal budget.
They have up to $250,000 for events and $100,000 for groups to travel, according to Beemsterboer.
At the meeting, Engineers Without Borders were approved funding for their summer trip to Kenya.
“This last summer was the fifth time we’ve gone to Kenya in the past two years. We go once in the summer and once in December,” Engineers Without Borders member Mark Liu said.
Liu said he was really happy to receive the funding and this was the largest amount the Finance Committee has given them in the two years they have been traveling to the country.
The funding grant was especially important to the group because they had already paid for the trip with their own money, which took place over summer break.
Each person who went on the trip had to originally pay $1,300, but now with the new grant they will only have to pay around $500, group member Lauren Campbell said.
She said the group was working on building a bio-sand filter for a small town and also designing an irrigation system, which they will start building on their next trip to Kenya.
“It’s a really great experience, and you learn a lot about life in general,” Campbell said.
Also at the meeting, the Chinese Language and Culture Club was denied a hearing for their Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival because they were late applying for the funds, according to Beemsterboer.
Beemsterboer said groups have to submit a request for funds six weeks before the event is suppose to be held.
He added sometimes this deadline could be shortened if the group has a good reason for missing the deadline, but the Chinese Language group knew they missed the deadline and tried to sneak it through.
Following the denial for funding the representatives for the Chinese Language and Culture Club appeared frustrated upon leaving shortly thereafter.
The Finance Committee did however approve funding for the Pakistani Students Association to host an end of Ramadan celebration at the Madison Senior Center.
PSA member Ali Ahsan said the celebration is like Pakistani Christmas and is open for all students to attend.
Haaris Pasha, also a PSA member, said they are also planning on using the event to try and raise funds to send back to Pakistan, where massive flooding in the country has caused a serious humanitarian crisis.
Pasha added they have already raised $5000 and hope to add to that.
One group, Yoga, Empowerment & Services, was awarded zero dollars after they failed to show up for their hearing.
Beemsterboer explained this, saying this has been his policy to not fund groups who miss their hearing date unless they inform him before hand.
“If you do not come to the hearing then you do not get anything,” Beemsterboer said.
