E-mail
Print
WISPIRG denied SFC eligibility
By Jonathan Anderson
WISPIRG’s request to be eligible for SFC funding was denied last week at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s (SAC) Oct. 7 small grant meeting.
SAC denied the SFC eligibility citing Article 10(a)(1) of the SA Senate Finance Committee Bylaws, which mandates that student organizations may only be eligible for SFC funding if they can show “frequent repetitive contractual services and problems and prove how opportunities would be lost or prices will differ” because of SAC funding. WISPIRG was seeking SFC funding to pay the salary of a campus organizer.
Despite the request for SFC eligibility, SAC chairperson Emily Grotz said WISPIRG is fully functioning this year.
“To me, they were coming as kind of preventative measures,” said Grotz. “They have not been able to our justification show that they are not able to run their campaigns.”
Abigail Behl, campus chairperson for WISPIRG, said the decision is unfortunate.
“We’re really disappointed about it,” said Behl. “For us to be a real advocacy group, we need to be sustained.”
Behl said WISPIRG is reviewing its funding options.
Other actions at the Oct. 7 meeting included:
-Alpha Phi Alpha received a $443 operations grant and a $433 event grant
-GIS Club received a $263 travel grant
-Association of Grad Students in Psychology received a $110 travel grant
-Student Parent Association received a $137 travel grant
-Club Tennis received a $650 travel grant
-Milwaukee Equestrian Club received a $685.97 travel grant
-Student organization charters were approved for Artist Alliance 414, Libertarian Association, Mental Health Awareness, Asian Student Union and Queer People of Color
Large grants for Spring 2009
Student organizations making requests of $700 or more for the spring semester must request a large grant. SAC large grant forms are due by 5 p.m., October 31 in the Student Association office, Union EG79. SAC large grant hearings will take place Nov. 14-16 in the Union. To learn more about properly completing SAC large grant requests, a forum will be held on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. in Union 181.
> Comments
Joseph Ohler on Oct 14, 2008 at 07:49 AM:
As a former WISPIRG intern who phone banked and registered students to vote way back in fall 2004, I can say verily that WISPIRG is NOT a critical service. I'm glad this year's SA is sticking to their guns on scrutinizing funds and strictly defining the term "critical." Let's just say while registering students to vote and promoting eco-awareness are noble pursuits, student life would continue without them.