The process of funding chartered student organizations-Student Government Association’s annual headache.
And the headache may have just gotten a little worse at the SGA meeting last night.
The senate approved the Women’s Soccer Club as a chartered organization. As a result, the club will be allowed to apply for SGA funding next April.
But at Saint Louis University, the process of funding student organizations has been a hassle for years.
Clubs and organizations submit their proposals for their budgets every April. Some groups get all of the money that they ask for, while others receive just a portion. With a Women’s Soccer Club joining those groups that can be funded, there’s no question that if the club could take money away from other groups.
SGA President Jay Perry doesn’t believe that the Women’s Soccer Club will take money away from other groups, as it is just one more chartered group. He thinks that the real issue is the student activity fee, which is currently $38 per year.
“We’ve reached the point where we can’t fund groups, but restricting the number of groups we have won’t solve anything,” said Perry. “Money shouldn’t be the issue.”
Right now, money isn’t an issue. But in February, it could be. Since the beginning of the school year, SGA Financial Vice President Dane Salazar and the Finance Committee have been sifting through numbers to come up with a logical activity fee increase. The increase would allow the SGA to dispense more money to student organizations. By the end of the semester, a bill will probably come before the senate to put an activity fee increase on the ballot in February. In February, students will be able to vote on the issue.
“I think we should increase the activity fee,” said Arts and Sciences Senator Mike Cappel. “We are doing a disservice to our student organizations [by having a low activity fee].”
Judging by some other Jesuit schools, SLU’s fee is somewhat low. At Marquette University in Milwaukee, the activity fee is $48 per year. Mike Carter, legislative vice president and head of the Marquette Senate said the activity fee is an issue for some students but not for others.
“Students want more [money], but they don’t want to pay for it,” said Carter.
At Boston College, the funding process is a little different. Boston College’s student government does not distribute funds; the Student Organization Committee handles that procedure. It consists of nine students, the vice president of student affairs and the vice president of student development.
In 1995, Boston College’s activity fee was $45. Due to a funding controversy, a student referendum was placed on the ballot to raise the fee. It passed and doubled the fee to $90, starting in 1996. The referendum stated that the fee was to increase $2 every year. Currently, Boston College’s fee is $98.
Fifty-three percent of the BC’s activity fee goes to the student government; 47 percent of the fee goes to the SOC to fund student organizations.
Even though the activity fee is high, not all student groups receive all of the funding they ask for.
“Very few groups get everything they ask for,” said Barbara Rayll, chairperson of the committee that distributes the funds for Boston College. “It’s frustrating for committee members and groups because we can’t distribute enough money to fund some groups.”
SLU Senate members know that feeling all too well.
Brian Suda, an undergraduate commuter senator, agreed that the Women’s Soccer Club “deserves a chance to exist.” But Suda knows that when the funding process comes around, having one more organization will create some challenges on money and time.
“That’s another 20 minutes that we’ll spend nit-picking over whether a team gets five soccer cones or six cones,” said Suda.
However Suda added, “I would certainly like to see a raise in the activity fee. If we could raise it to $50, that would stretch funding incredibly.”
And that’s what Perry is pushing for-more money.
“We change the [funding] process year after year,” Perry said. “It’s becoming a fist fight over money.”
Perry said he is open to looking at different ways to fund organizations, but that it has to make sense. “We can’t continue on the way we’re going,” Perry said.
