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How Senate allocates $70,000 to student groups
NOLAN BREY
@NolanPace
@NolanBrey
Data from KU Student Senate, includes block and line-item funding
Student Senate allocated $69,997.95 of $70,000 in student funding requests this year. However, to receive Student Senate funding, groups must navigate an intricate process some view as bureaucratic. Student groups are eligible to receive a portion of the more than the $600,000 that Student Senate allocates to the University as a whole.
Groups may request funds for a variety of activities and expenditures, including office supplies, honoraria, equipment, advertising, cultural items and more. However, groups may not receive funds to provide services that already exist on campus, pay for travel expenses or offer giveaway items, food or one-time-use items. Groups that cannot
apply include honors societies, Greek organizations and other exclusive groups.
To receive funding, groups must be registered through the Student Involvement and Leadership Center (SILC) and be open to all students. Additionally, organizations may not have academic requirements or fees that keep students from participating.
Each semester, all students pay $455.50 in student fees,$14.15 of which goes to the Student Senate activity fee. This fee funds various activities, including University bands, University forensics, the Lied Center, the Student Senate administrative budget, the University Theatre and more.
"If you're going to require students to pay this fee, they should be able to benefit from it," said Allyssa Castilleja, Student Senate treasurer.
Art, Music & Culture (33%)
Specialty Groups (23%)
Student Senate/CCO (12%)
Other Organizations (11%)
Graduate-Related Funding (8%)
Advocacy (6%)
Model UN (4%)
Mock Trial (3%)
To receive funds, groups must complete a series of steps. Groups must first write a bill to receive funding. Bills are written by student senators, who are assigned to every student group in SILC.
"If they don't show up to
However, while Coots views the process as fair, she wishes that it was a faster process, as groups who might need funding quickly
The group asking for funding must attend each of the three senate committee meetings to present their funding request. Castilleja said this step is often the most difficult for groups.
After bills have been written, they are sent to the Student Senate Finance Committee. If passed in finance, the bill is sent to one of the other three Student Senate legislative committees (this decision is made by the Student Senate vice president). The next week, the bill is sent to full senate, and if it is approved, the group will receive their funding within two weeks.
one of those presentations, then we have to table their bill and then that's another month they have to wait," Castilleja said.
If you're going to require students to pay this fee, they should be able to benefit from it."
"The process was very transparent," Coots said. "Our senator was very clear on what we needed to bring to the table, what kind of questions should we expect, what kind of things are we going to need to mention in front of senate as we request the funds."
Allyssa Castilleja Student Senate treasurer
Erin Coots, a junior from Olathe and public relations coordinator of Engineers Without Borders, said her organization's experience with Student Senate funding requests has been positive thanks to engineering senators. Engineers Without Borders received $600 from two Student Senate funding requests this year.
may not be able to obtain funds in time.
"I think we're a more secure funding source because we usually don't deny funding requests if they follow the rules, just because there's no reason to if we have the money," Castilleja said.
"I would say it's reasonable to me," Coots said. "But, I wish the turnaround time was shorter. You have to know what money you need quite a ways in advance if you want to get the money in time."
As April approached, most available funds had already been allocated. At their March 30 meeting, the Finance Committee was only able to allocate $2,652.05, while $9,230 had been requested by groups. Student groups who ask for funds at the end of the year are at a greater disadvantage, though getting some sort of funding is still highly likely.
Castilleja said the vast majority of groups who request funding receive the funding, and the finance committee denied funding to only four groups this year.
Moreover, Castilleja said 128 groups were funded this year. Most funding disbursements were either in the $100 or $500-$2,500 ranges. However, some disbursements were over $5,000, Castilleja said.
There is not a maximum amount that student groups can ask for, but Student Senate has a "half over a thousand" funding policy, meaning that if an event will cost over $1,000, the Student Senate will pay the first $1,000 plus half of the remaining balance. For example, the Student Senate would provide $1,250 in funding for a $1,500 event.
Castilleja said the student activities funding budget is not fixed, but usually hovers around $70,000 or $80,000. Unlike last year,
Illustration by Nolan Brey
this year's funding budget was used entirely.
"It's hard to estimate because I feel like some years groups come for a ton of events," Castilleja said. "Some years, they just don't. This year, I think they came for more because departments on campus were less willing to fund just because of budget cuts."
In general, Castilleja thinks the process works well, though it could be improved by reaching out to more organizations who do not know they are eligible for funding.
"I think it's something that student groups, in general, always have a problem with is reaching out to new people, but I think that the groups who work with us on a year-to-year basis understand the process and do a really good job when it comes to their turnover and explaining the process and making sure everything goes smoothly," Castilleja said.
Univ. Senate delays vote on test rescheduling policy
▶ CHANDLER BOESE
@Chandler_Boees
The policy that would allow students exemptions from tests in case of life events is still up in the air after a contentious debate in University Senate on Thursday.
The Senate, which includes representatives from faculty, staff and student senates, discussed the policy and amendments to it for well over an hour during Thursday's meeting, eventually voting to refer it to a committee of the body for further discussion, deliberation and amendments.
Senior Joseph Kollhoff, a non-traditional student senator, had originally proposed the policy, which mandated
that faculty members work with students to make up any tests or final exams that coincide with a significant life event. The policy had been supported by Student Senate and was debated at an April 13 University Senate meeting.
Some of the issues that had been brought up at the previous meeting, like a lack of specificity in defining "major life event," surfaced again in the meeting. Kollhoff and a few staff members attempted to suggest amendments clarifying the definition, but all failed. Suggestions for qualifying life events included the birth or adoption of a child, death of a family member or a change in marital status.
"It was nice to see that there were at least a few faculty members on my side, kind of saying, this is better, let's use this language instead," Kollhoff said after the meeting.
Faculty members and some staff members expressed concerns with some of the amendments, like those allowing accommodations for marriage or a change in marital status.
Following these discussions, Kollhoff rescinded the part of his bill that asks faculty members to specifically allow students accommodations on their finals. He said he felt that this part of the bill was a problem for faculty members.
"It seemed to be the root of most of the argument, since you can look at finals schedules five years in advance," he said after the meeting. "If that's what they want to argue, that's a more reasonable argument."
However, the bill itself, in its original form or with a rescinded amendment, never actually made it to a vote. The Senate instead voted to move the bill to the University Senate Executive Committee, which will then decide which of the Senate's subcommittees to move the bill to.
This decision, too, was hotly debated by members, with some arguing that the issue was complex and important enough to need further deliberation, while others argued that the issue merited an immediate decision.
"Because all of us here
are capable of making a decision, so, yes we may disagree, that's true, but we've all been elected to this body because we are capable," argued student representative Jasmine Fillmore during the meeting. "If we weren't capable of having a discussion and clarifying this, then we wouldn't have been elected or appointed to the body in the first place."
Staff representative Emily Gullickson, on the other hand, said the discussion surrounding the policy demonstrated the need for further discussion.
"I feel like this is really important, not just for students, but also for considering faculty and instructor rights," she said. "We've been talking about this for over an hour,
and we still haven't reached a decision. We've failed everything because of the language and I think language really matters here."
A majority of the representatives voted to send the policy to SenEx. Kollhoff said he was disappointed by the actions of the Senate, but he's willing to compromise some of his points to see the policy passed.
"I find it unfortunate that they would rather kick the can than actually do something about it," he said. "In that regard, I'm underwhelmed."
The next SenEx meeting is Tuesday in the provost's conference room, where the group will decide which of the nine standing committees to refer the policy to.