The Student Government Association Senate adopted a little over $1.5 million in budgeting with stipends at its Monday night meeting, covering funding for several major divisions of on-campus groups for the upcoming fiscal year.
The University Program Council, Student Involvement, Emerge, Student Media and SGA were among those funded for the year starting Oct. 1, 2019, and ending Sept. 30, 2020.
“This is an active process that we have been working on extensively since about April of this year,” said James Sadie, Budget and Finance Committee chair of SGA. “What we’ve done is that due diligence of finding out what these organizations need.”
Following a quick resolution that provided Student Involvement with $15,000 last week after it ran out of money, SGA was able to secure a higher overall budget for 2019 – 2020 in cooperation with University administration, according to Sadie.
“The University was helpful in getting us some funding that they believe should be student funding through the Student Activity Portfolio,” Sadie said. “We have more money allocated to us this year and did not have to make any cuts.”
Student Involvement was able to successfully use the $15,000 granted recently to finish out the fiscal year. In the upcoming year, they will have $150,000 total to last them until next September.
With the adopted funding, Emerge is looking to add more programs to its lineup, Sadie said.
“Leadership is really pushing a few of their programs and honing in on the best ways to get every student involved,” he said. “If students want to be a leader, they have that opportunity because of the things Emerge provides.”
Sadie said the Black Student Union and the International Student Organization were two driving forces in determining how the $1.5 million would be distributed. BSU plans to celebrate Black History Month with a series of events in February 2020, while ISO intends to host its annual Peace Dinner, two occasions that will demand high expenses.
“They came to us in April with their plans and thoughts,” Sadie said. “Tonight, I’m proud to say the [Student Senate] gets to make those dreams a reality to elevate the student experience.”
The Glomerata was one other organization that saw benefits from the adopted bills, having been affected by the end of leases for its computers in August. It will now be under the Student Involvement administration budget, according to Sadie, which all withstanding leases and costs for required hardware were factored into.
“Everyone should be covered on their computer needs within the Office of Student Involvement,” Sadie said. “There are ongoing leases; however, we expect them to expire within this fiscal year, and those are being funded for as well.”
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