WSA allocates January funding for RSO activities
By Megan Higdon
Western Herald
The Western Student Association’s Allocations Committee gave over $60,000 of student money to Registered Student Organizations last week.
Half of the Student Assessment Fee — $21 that every student pays for the Fall and Spring semesters, and $10.50 for Summer I and II semesters — is allocated towards the WSA-AC.
Each month, the Allocations Committee, which consists of eight members, meet to discuss events RSOs plan to put on and if they are worthy of being funded. Funding was given to 19 RSOs for 21 events, totaling $66,991.83.
Devin Brown, committee chair, said that the AC has $110,000 left to delegate for the rest of the semester.
In order to receive any funding from WSA-AC, each RSO must present a budget for the event they have planned. The RSO goes through the budget with the eight-member committee and any questions, suggestions, or concerns are addressed. Where, when, and why an event is being held, and what items can be removed from the event’s budget are considered.
Joel Palmer and Lygia Mueller, members of the International Programs Council, presented their budget and what events they would like to have on campus to WSA-AC this past Friday. Although they were granted funding, there were a few disappointments. The International Fest was granted $6,344, but the International Ball had to have certain items investigated.
“I was surprised myself. I didn’t expect so many items to be investigated,” Palmer said.
Investigations are opportunities to determine if, for example, catering could be booked for a cheaper rate or an item such as the International Programs Council’s centerpieces can be found on campus rather than where they had planned to get it from originally.
“Instead of cutting an item completely, we were given a week to investigate, which was nice of the committee,” Mueller said.
”The AC tries very hard to keep the allocated funds on campus instead of going to outside sources,” Brown said. “Our main focus is to help our university.”
The final amount of funding allocated to the International Ball was $2,384.22.
Although many RSOs received funding, several did not, due to concerns with their budget or preparation.
“I feel good about all the RSOs that we funded,” Brown said. “I feel that there was a mix of events, and they are going to be successful.”
The next deliberations meeting will be held Feb. 19 in the Bernhard Center. For an RSO to request funding, they must first attend one of the financial managers workshops offered by the SALP RSO Financial Advisor meetings on Feb. 8, March 15 or April 5. They are held from 5 to 6 p.m. in room 212 of the Bernhard Center.
Proposed budgets are due to Brown by Feb. 12 for the Feb. 19 deliberations. His e-mail address is WSAAC-Chair@wmich.edu.
Related Stories: WSA Allocations Committee ensures suitable funding, Dec. 1 2009
WSA ratifies $71,000 student funded budget, Sept. 23 2009
Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=13998
Posted by heraldstaff
on Jan 24 2010. Filed under Breaking, News.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
http://HeraldStaff
Loading ...
While Mr. Brown may “feel good about all the RSOs that we funded” I do not feel good about the Allocations Committee. This month’s deliberations are yet another example of the WMUAC’s gross neglect for important policies and procedures as outline in the 2009-2010 WSAAC Funding Guidelines. For starters, time and time again the AC fails to approach each case with a viewpoint neutral basis; a requirement clearly stated in the eighth paragraph of the Funding Guidelines. The AC continues treating some RSO’s better than others. For example, when items were questioned, students working on the International Ball were given an extra week to investigate and repair their budget. This while other RSO’s weren’t even given a clear explanation of why their event couldn’t be funded, and were sent out the door.
I question if the AC even knows what their governing document says. This year, each candidate for the committee was discussed on the floor of the WSA; and each one was asked how they feel about funding an event which gives money to a charitable organization. As demonstrated by their answers and by many of the events funded, the Allocations Committee has no problem funding such events. However the 2009-2010 WSAAC Funding Guidelines clearly says, “SAF funds will be distributed on a viewpoint-neutral basis to programs that do not violate local, state, or federal laws; as well as programs that will not result in a donation to any sort of political campaign or charitable organization.” I’m puzzled as to where Mr. Brown thinks money from events like Hope for Haiti or Relay for Life is going?
You’d think that a committee with so much power, in charge of close to a quarter of a million dollars would take their job more seriously.