Student clubs and organizations requesting funding from Student Government will now go through a new outlet intended to prioritize the needs of students over university departments.
During finals week, SG passed a bill that created the Senate Committee on Special Funding, splitting the responsibility between the existing appropriations committee and the new committee.
In past semesters, the Senate Committee on Appropriations worked to fund both student organizations and campus departments funded by Activity and Service fees, such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Harborside Activities Board. Now, the newly formed Senate Committee on Special Funding will take on the responsibility of working with student clubs and organizations, leaving other entities to the original committee.
“We need to make sure we take care of our students first,” said Jozef Gherman, the sponsor of the bill and former chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
“The Senate Committee on Appropriations has been overwhelmed by granted requests,” the bill says. In order to have appropriate time to make decisions on grant requests, SG recognized the need for a second committee to handle budgets for the other A&S fee groups.
This split of responsibility will benefit the A&S fee groups as well, Gherman said. The Senate Committee on Appropriations will increase communications with A&S fee funded departments to better budget the money they need.
The chairs of each committee will be decided at the first general assembly of the semester on Wednesday, Jan. 8, Gherman said. He will be stepping down as the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations to become SG’s Chief Financial Officer.
Gherman believes the formation of two committees will “make Student Government a little bit more financially legitimate.”
USF Tampa has three committees working on A&S fee funding. While USFSP’s SG doesn’t need to model everything after them, Gherman said, USFSP can benefit from Tampa’s wisdom because their SG has been established longer.
Florida universities assemble a committee each year, half appointed by the university president and half appointed by the student body president, according to Florida statute. This committee decides how much student tuition goes toward A&S fees.
At USFSP, a significant portion of the A&S fees goes toward the University Student Center, Gherman said. SG then receives the remainder of the money to fund student clubs and organizations and the campus departments funded by A&S fees.
Gherman compared the process of making two separate appropriations committees to adding a lane on the highway. SG is “expanding the highway of information and requests and flexibility,” he said.
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