The student senate allocated $8,882 to seven student organizations in two bills Wednesday, using its new rolling allocation method for funding.
The largest sum of funds to the Student Christian Fellowship. The allocated $4,500 will pay for two large scale concerts for students, according to Student Body Treasurer Ryan Harman.
“One of the things we liked about [the Student Christian Fellowship’s funding request] was that they gave us a quote for how much it cost, what they would need and who they were buying from,” Harman said. “We really prefer to give money when we know the people and products involved.”
The second largest allocation went to the Flying Gamecocks Skydiving Club, which will use the granted $2,977 to attend a national conference, where they’ve previously received recognition, and a public skydiving event, according to Ian Shannon, head of the senate finance committee.
In sum, seven student organizations requested $12,661, though multiple requests were denied for not meeting SG funding protocol.
“We actually went on a trip called the SEC exchange where the whole weekend was spent talking with other student governments about their programs,” Harman said. “What we found was the USC has the strictest protocol and structure for how student organizations spend money.”
Student Government uses a line-item system to approve funding requests, according to Harman. Each request has to come with paperwork, receipts and guidelines for purchases before funding is approved. Every individual receipt is itemized by SG officials to ensure that organizations aren’t overpricing their purchases.
“On the back end of funding, we have much more accountability [than other schools],” Harman said. “In many cases, your receipts have gone through five hands before anyone even talks about a check.”
Money for student organizational funding comes from the Student Activity Fees, a mandatory fee paid for by each student at the beginning of the semester. The fee goes into a general fund, from which organizations are granted funding requests first by the finance committee and comptroller, then the student senate.
As of now, there is no option to opt out of the fee at USC.
The University of Tennessee has seen issues with these sort of fees. In April, Tennessee state legislators proposed a bill to heavily restrict what organizations could receive in funding from their flagship university after lawmakers and parents took issue with the university’s Sex Week, calling it inappropriate for students.
The bill was discarded, but University of Tennessee system President Joe DiPietro did agree to allow students to opt out of the fees.
As of now, Harman said, USC has no plans to pursue any optional fee system like that in Tennessee.
“I’ve been in organizations since I got to school,” Harman said. “I’ve gotten a lot out of my student activity fee, and a lot of the people I encounter really enjoy everything the community brings.”