Slippery Rock’s Student Government Association approved a new budget for student activities and increased the base funding given to new clubs and organizations Monday night.
The 2016-2017 Student Activity Fee Budget, amounting to $2,054,400, consists of all the funds SGA can give to clubs and organizations throughout the year, Vice President of Finance Michael Farah said.
“About 34 percent of this budget goes toward athletics and the rest is set aside for other clubs and organizations,” Farah said. “This budget represents a zero percent increase from last year,” he continued, explaining that, because of steady enrollment rates at SRU and the lack of a state budget, SGA could not anticipate an increase in funding via the student activity fee.
Though last year’s budget was raised by seven percent, SGA Adviser Wendy Leitera explained that increases are uncommon and that the 2015-2016 budget was the first raise in at least two years.
SGA also voted to increase first-time funding for new clubs and organizations from $250 to $500 in an effort to enable new groups to host events and rely less on new initiative requests, Farah explained.
“This will also apply to any organization currently funded by SGA that receives less than $500,” he said.
Additionally, SRU’s Winter Guard was given $8,085.85 for travel expenses and the Women’s Solar Center was recognized as a new club during Monday’s meeting, which was the first of the new semester.
Representatives from the winter guard team, which consists of 25 members, said that they had already fundraised on their own, but that more money was needed to rent buses and a van for supplies.
Members of the Women’s Solar Center said their new club will work toward empowering women in business by conducting resume workshops, enlisting guest speakers, teaching negotiation techniques and aligning female business students with female mentors.
SGA filled a recently vacated senate seat Monday night when Nathaniel Henkle, a finance major, was elected as a commuter senator.
“Nathaniel has always shown a lot of enthusiasm about SGA, so as soon as the position opened up I went to him,” SGA President Logan Steigerwalt said.
Steigerwalt proclaimed February to be “Black History Month” during the meeting, in a message that was approved by SGA and lent support to relevant groups on campus.
The next SGA meeting will be held on February 8 in the Smith Student Center Theater at 8:45 p.m.
