Undergraduate Student Government Downtown is streamlining the process for students with funding requests.
A bill passed unanimously at Friday’s Senate meeting requires that students requesting funding need only attend a Budget Allocations Committee meeting for their request, and that the entire USGD senate no longer needs to approve funding requests as an entire body.
“It’s a win-win situation for USGD and the student organizations,” College of Public Service and Community Solutions Sen. Liz Gray said.
SB28 requires at least five senate members to be present at each BAC meeting. Previously, the BAC would make a recommendation for full, partial or no funding with each request. Then, at a separate meeting, the senate would take into account the BAC’s recommendation and give the final decision.
USGD Director of Finance William Padmore heads the BAC meetings every Monday. He said making sure five senators were in the BAC was important to make sure they will have senate recommendation.
“The rest of the seats, to a max of 11, can be filled in by anybody … USGD or students,” Padmore said.
Information about the paperwork students need to bring if they are requesting funding at a BAC meeting is available online and through members of USGD, he said.
The senate decided to add the five-senator minimum rule after the bill’s first reading at last Friday’s meeting.
Gray said students can act as board members on the BAC without being USGD senators.
“We’ve heard a ton of feedback from student organizations saying that two meetings was hard — and they’re long meetings,” she said. “So many of those people are already involved with multiple things along with school, work and so on, so this is for the convenience of student organizations.”
She said senators who are involved with any student organization requesting funding are expected to abstain from voting for that funding to prevent conflict of interest.
“This year has been a great year for USGD as a whole, and especially BAC,” Gray said. “We’ve had a lot of attendance from senators, a lot of development within that, more student organizations are coming for more funding. Student fee money is used pretty effectively this year.”
During the meeting, CPSCS Sen. Ryan Boyd opened the floor to comments from the three students present who were requesting funding for their organizations. Amanda Luberto, who was requesting funding on behalf of The Blaze and I Am That Girl, said she supports the option that means she only has to go to one meeting.
Kelly Beguin, a community adviser with the Young Life Christian student group, said she attends USGD meetings a couple of times each year to request funding for Young Life’s large service projects.
“I find sitting in the senate meetings to kind of — not rudely — but be a little bit of a waste of time,” she said. “I think this makes it a lot easier for organizations.”
Contact the reporter at sajarvis@asu.edu.
