Student organizations will flood the Memorial Union Ballroom tonight to hear debate on the Student Government Association allocations committee’s funding recommendations.
Forty-one student organizations requested money and eight groups were recommended to receive zero funding. Those groups include Campus Scouts, Fringe Theatre, Kotatsu, Lines Journal, Los Girasoles, Model United Nations, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Tiger Wild.
Tiger Wild and Campus Scouts did not show up for their allocations meetings. Last year, four groups were recommended to receive zero funding.
Allocations committee member sophomore Jessica Tormey said she expects the meeting to go long because many groups will be fighting to secure funding.
“I think that it will be kind of a long meeting,” Tormey said. “It typically is because of the amount of money we’re distributing. I think there is going to be some things that the senators are going to want to discuss and make amendments.”
More than $680,000 in funds were requested and $642,994 were recommended to be distributed.
“There were several groups that were zero funded,” Tormey said. “I think that they will have their constituents or their members come and speak to the senate and it really honestly depends on how the senate takes and reacts to what they say is how this will go. So, I think that just the cuts are going to be a problem among some of the organizations.”
One of the groups planning on protesting the recommendations is Fringe. Sophomore Marc Hertel, president of Fringe, said he thought SGA members do not understand how their money is spent. The justification for zero funding stated the “organization covers expenses and the department receives profits.”
Hertel said that the theater program almost never makes a profit and the money is instead used allow students to get discounted ticket prices.
Hertel spoke at the last SGA meeting and said he was frustrated SGA members do not seem to understand the group is not being used.
“When I had to explain, I figured I countered (the argument) as best as I could by showing we don’t make a profit off our shows like they seem to think,” Hertel said. “So, I’m most upset they don’t seem to understand our counterstatement.”
Another group planning on fighting for funding is Model United Nations. Senior Erin Frownfelter, president of Model United Nations, said she is trying to organize supporters to attend the meeting.
“We’re trying to get as many club members as we can to go,” Frownfelter said. “We’re hoping to get most of them there to make a visual impact to explain to them we really need the funding.”
Frownfelter said she was surprised to find out her organization was recommended for zero funding rather than merely cut.
“I was pretty surprised because we’ve always been funded in the past,” Frownfelter said. “I’m looking back at all of our past requests and we’ve always received at least some funding. Anything they can give us would be helpful so we’re hoping to get at least partial funding.”
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. All allocated groups are required to have a representative attend.
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