By: Mira Costello
Co-Editor
Reconvening for the first time after spring break, the Student Government Association met on March 25 to vote on the allocation of the Student Activity Fee Budget for the upcoming academic year and to finalize preparations for their Student Emergency Relief Fund benefit dinner.
Lia Azcuna, chair of the philanthropy committee, led discussion on the SGA’s benefit dinner, held March 31 from 5-7 p.m. in the Grill. At the time of the meeting, there were 100 tickets left to be sold, which can be purchased for $15 for students or $20 for faculty.
Senators unanimously approved next year’s allocation of the Student Activity Fee Budget, which comes from a five-dollar-per-credit-hour fee paid by each student to fund campus activities. For the 2021-2022 academic year, the SGA allocated $520,399 from the budget; for the 2022-2023 academic year, they unanimously voted to allocate $510,000, a slight decrease related to a drop in enrollment.
The Student Activity Fee (SAF) Budget Committee consists of five SGA senators in addition to Treasurer Christian Martinez, who presented the budget breakdown. He emphasized that the SAF budget should be used in ways that directly contribute to student life and not sit in an account unutilized, which influenced some allocation decisions.
The organizations funded by the SAF and their allocation for next year include the SGA ($36,500), Student Life ($102,851), Titan Productions ($69,000), The Preface ($12,000), other student publications such as Analecta and the Undergraduate Research Journal ($10,000), the Box Office ($14,000), the Civil Rights Heritage Center ($15,180), the Student Activities Center ($110,000), intercollegiate athletics ($75,760), men’s basketball ($20,620), women’s basketball ($22,190) and women’s volleyball ($21,900).
In total, the SAF Budget Committee received $1.2 million in requests for funding, and allocated $510,000. Treasurer Martinez noted that much of this discrepancy falls under athletics, as the general fund and the administration cover much of what the athletic teams and SAC request from the committee. When allocating the budget, leftover funds from previous years and the impact of Covid-19 on organization spending was also considered.
So, where is the money going? Much of it, according to Treasurer Martinez, helps employ the staff and student workers that keep the campus running, as well as going toward event programming and resources for students. The Box Office also received a higher allocation than normal, as they now plan to use the funding to offer students free tickets to all non-fundraiser performances. The Civil Rights Heritage Center will use some of their allocation to upgrade their multimedia capabilities and implement a transport service between IU South Bend and the CRHC.
In other business, the SGA unanimously approved $3,145 funding for the Japanese Club’s Asian Heritage Festival, which will include a taiko drum demonstration, a tea ceremony, a calligraphy event and more. The event will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Grill on April 15.