The Programming and Activities Board and other student organizations requested funds Wednesday from Downtown student government through a recently implemented and reformed system designed to make the funding process easier and less intimidating.
The new system, incorporated into meetings of the Budget Allocations Committee, pairs a student organization with a senator willing to sponsor the specific funding request. At Senate meetings, the sponsoring senator will now present the request to the rest of the chamber, acting as an intermediary on behalf of the student organization asking for money.
Previously, student organizations presented their budget requests directly to all senators during Senate meetings. After the Senate posed clarification questions and the merit of a request was discussed, the request would be approved, rejected or amended.
Director of Finance Sam Tongue, a journalism junior who chairs the budget committee, said feedback from previous senators suggested meetings could be more productive.
Under the new system, “student organizations can meet with a senator and lobby them,” said Sen. Zack Lindsay, a junior representing the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
All paperwork must be submitted before the hearing so the Downtown student government board has time to review the materials.
“Senators are able to form questions and can do more research with an extra couple days,” Tongue said. “Informed decisions are good decisions.”
At Wednesday’s meeting, student-organization representatives answered clarification questions about their proposed budgets, a step Tongue said will increase efficiency at Senate meetings. This increased discussion will help the Senate ensure all money is spent wisely this year, Tongue said.
Though the Senate is having its second meeting this Friday, the sponsorship model will not be incorporated until the following Sept. 9 meeting, Tongue said, because senators needed time to understand the system and did not want to delay voting on funding requests already submitted.
PAB requested $116,791 for the upcoming school year for events such as homecoming and Spring Festival week. Specifics in PAB’s budget are not clearly defined yet.
The Student Nutrition Council requested $22,404 to attend a Food and Nutrition Conference and Exposition in San Diego this September.
“There’s lots of vendors set up, important people to network with,” said nutrition junior Rachel Cassinat, a representative for SNC.
Cassinat said she expects the council’s request to be approved for a little less money than it asked for, but she is confident it will work out with alternatives for transportation or lodging. Cassinat also said she feels the revised process for requesting money is smooth, “making it easier than it has ever been.”
A vote on the budgets is currently scheduled for this Friday’s Senate meeting.
“I feel there are a lot of good senators who are interested in doing what is best for the campus as a whole,” Cassinat said.
Contact the reporter at jlzook@asu.edu
