The student government addressed criticism of student organization funding streams Monday night, asking students for feedback on how to make the current system better, although only a little more than a dozen students showed up for the forum.

The Student Services Finance Committee held an open forum to allow students to pose questions and express their concerns about the organization funding process.

Although groups were able to converse openly about issues that affect student organization, the student turnout was very light.

“I think any turnout for ASM is quite frankly depressing,” said SSFC Secretary Jason Smathers.

Smathers said there needs to be more one-on-one communication between ASM and student organizations on the issue, and SSFC will have to reach out and approach different groups.

The forum primarily focused on issues surrounding the General Student Service Fund and Finance Committee grants.

Smathers said groups that go through GSSF funding always have problems.

“It is a very complicated process that needs to be explained and re-explained year after year,” said Smathers, who was editor in chief of The Badger Herald from June 2009 to June 2010. “It also needs to be reinterpreted by [SSFC] committee members year after year.”

The SSFC wants to set up a funding stream that funds all the groups that need to be funded but also keeps things low in money spent, Smathers said.

A handful of representatives from organizations such as MEChA, WISPIRG and other interested students were divided into small groups led by representatives from SSFC and other members of the student government according to their organization’s funding stream.

In many of the groups, the issue of the confusion raised by the GSSF application process was discussed.

Student Council Rep. Sarah Neibart said her group primarily focused on the GSSF eligibility process and the challenges groups face with presenting all their information properly to the SSFC.

Neibart said her group wanted to see changes in the literature of different funding criteria because many of the requirements are worded in a way that causes confusion for organizations.

She said her group was able to create a great and relevant dialogue.

“It was very open and we had great communication,” Niebart said. “I would really like to see these things happen more often.”

University of Wisconsin senior and WISPIRG representative Ryan Crawford said he came to the forum because he was concerned about the difficulty of figuring out the criteria for organization funding and learning how to meet certain SSFC criteria.

He said he thought the criteria needs be changed because it is confusing, and there has to be clearer communication between the SSFC and student organizations about what the SSFC is looking for.

He said he felt the representatives that worked in his group were very responsive, and they were able to work through many issues.

“I thought the conversation was very good,” Crawford said “We got through a lot of problems.”

Crawford added, however, that he thinks there are many issues with the GSSF that need to be fixed before the Campus Services Fund can even be considered.