Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon

The Undergraduate Student Government College Council meets weekly in Stuart Hall.

The Undergraduate Student Government’s (USG) College Council (CC) met on Monday to hear funding appeals from the Voices in Your Head, Dirt Red Brass Band, and Outdoor Adventure Club RSOs, which argued that the Student Government Funding Committee (SFGC) did not adhere to the recommendations outlined in its cost guide when making allocations. 

During the meeting, Class of 2029 Representative Gavin Wynn also introduced a resolution for USG to consider ways to expand student access to Student Center spaces. The motion would attempt to increase access to University buildings for student organizations that are not officially registered as RSOs. 

A resolution cannot be passed at the same meeting as it is introduced, so Wynn’s proposal will not be approved until at least next week. 

CC also seated fourth-year Dariel Cruz Rodriguez, who had received three votes as the next highest vote-getter in last fall’s election, following three fourth-year representative resignations across winter break and the beginning of this quarter.  

USG spent the rest of its meeting hearing RSO funding appeals. 

Voices in Your Head asked SGFC to increase the initially approved $2,823.53 in funding for the Boston Sings a capella event, pointing out that the group would only have $2,000 remaining to fund the rest of the trip after event registration fees. 

USG noted that Voices in Your Head did not meet the minimum fundraising requirement of 10 percent for events with costs exceeding $2,500 and that the allocated amount was reduced by the sum the RSO was expected to raise independently. 

SGFC moved to pay for the event registration fees in full while paying 50 percent for travel and lodging, as outlined in the cost guide, ultimately allocating an additional $431.53 to Voices in Your Head. 

Dirt Red Grass Band appealed the $2,062.85 initially approved for its New Orleans brass band trip, stating that this amount did not meet the 20 percent of trip funding that can be allocated to RSOs according to the SGFC cost guide.  

After recalculating, USG denied the appeal and did not adjust the allocation, concluding that the amount initially allocated was a $150 overestimate according to the SGFC cost guide. 

The Outdoor Adventure Club (OAC) appealed the initial $2,373.18 of funding received for its three major spring break trips to national parks in Texas and New Mexico; Colorado and Utah; and Michigan and Wisconsin. In past years, according to its initial petition, OAC has received between $10,000 and $15,000 from SGFC to fund these trips.  

OAC argued that the SGFC cost guide was updated to reduce suggested funding for non-competition RSO travel after the submission of OAC’s initial funding request, and that the organization was unfairly penalized by scheduling delays on SGFC’s end.  

The group also noted that USG was supposed to cover 20 percent of the total food and housing costs, and that, in the amount initially allocated, USG incorrectly subtracted registration costs from the food and housing total. 

USG responded that the trips were far enough in the future that the new guidelines should apply and emphasized that previous funding decisions cannot influence future allocations.  

After deliberation, USG moved to allocate $1,803.50 to OAC’s trip to Texas and New Mexico, $1955.08 to Colorado and Utah, and $617.47 to Michigan and Wisconsin, a $2002.87 increase from the amount initially allocated. 

College Council holds weekly public meetings in Stuart Hall 104 on Mondays at 7 p.m. 

Editor’s note: Head News Editor Gabriel Kraemer serves as treasurer for Outdoor Adventure Club. He had no role in the reporting or editing of this article. Cruz Rodriguez is a staff photographer for the Maroon. He had no role in the reporting of this article.