The Boston University Student Government discussed changes in funding requirements for the Student Activities Office, confirmed a co-chair for the finance committee and approved funding for the Mexican Cultural Association at BU at their meeting last night. StuGov also endorsed both a new songwriting club and a financial aid workshop.
Margaret Babson, the interim director of SAO, discussed the changes in the Allocations Board funding and how the process works. The AB is overseen by SAO and provides funding for student groups.
Senators sought clarification on required documentation, potential funding caps and reasons for funding denials.
Babson said while the Allocations Board is considering more structured guidelines for funding limits, there are currently no funding caps in place.
“The Allocations Board is meant to fill gaps, not to fully fund events and programs given the amount of money that they have and the number of groups that are requesting funding,” Babson said.
Babson added that funding denials often occur when a club’s mission overlaps too closely with preexisting student organizations or official university groups.
“[The] biggest thing overall is making sure that all their events are always open for the entire BU population,” Babson said. “Events that are more singular or more focused in nature often don’t get as much funding.”
StuGov President Akwasi Antwi said while Babson addressed student funding challenges, an AB student representative should also share their perspective.
“If we were to get a better grasp of exactly which AB guidelines were edited and which ones were changed it would provide us with good foundations to be able to answer a lot of questions from student organizations,” Antwi said.
Ayomide Ania, an Impact Party leader, said she wishes SAO would be more transparent about the guideline changes, but she now understands why some of the groups lost their funding this year.
“[Allocations Board] needs more general outlines that are then given out to all these groups,” Wu said. “It’s a very case-by-case basis because different clubs do different things but I think there has to be some sort of general consensus on how funding works.”
The meeting proceeded with the senators confirming sophomore Sean Sun as the new co-chair of the finance committee with 35 affirmative votes.
StuGov approved a request for $500 for two events to the Mexican Cultural Association at BU, a community for Mexico students on campus to feel connected to their roots and traditions. The funding will support MEXAS’ events for the upcoming semester.
StuGov also endorsed BU Songwriters Circle’s showcase event, where its members will perform live. The new club, which works to create a collaborative environment for musicians, will be promoted on the StuGov Instagram page.
The BU Awards and Recognition Committee presented their goal to become the first student-led award committee at BU dedicated to recognizing student accomplishments.
“We want to create a platform in which student projects and initiatives can be heard,” said Casey Kang, who presented for ARC.
Some senators expressed concerns about a potential lack of approval from the BU administration and whether awards from a student-led committee would be taken seriously..
The amendment for ARC will be voted on at the next StuGov meeting on Dec. 2.
Terriers United presented details on a joint financial aid workshop with BU Financial Assistance and BU Fellowships and Scholarships to be held on Dec. 5. The workshop looks to educate students on BU financial aid options and how students can apply for different forms of aid.
StuGov endorsed the workshop with 30 affirmative votes.
The meeting concluded with summaries of each StuGov committee’s recent accomplishments since the last session.
