Funding plan awaits okay

A new student government funding board proposed last spring has received only half of the official support it needs to become a permanent government body, student government leaders said this week. The Joint Co-Sponsorship Board, which was proposed to fund activities that fall between the guidelines of the Student Activities Committee and the Social Planning and Events Committee, was approved by SAC last March, but has not yet been considered by SPEC, leaders said. SPEC, which would have two representatives on the new board, will vote on the JCB proposal within two weeks after members meet for their first Steering Committee meeting of the year, SPEC Chairperson Anne Todd said last night. Because SPEC had its final meeting before JCB negotiations were finalized last spring, the organization was not able to consider the proposal before the end of last semester. "As far as SAC is concerned, the JCB exists," said SAC Finance Chairperson Grace Esteban. "It fits a need." "SPEC and SAC are two different things," College junior Esteban said. "SAC is a funding board, SPEC is a programming board." If approved, the JCB would fund already-planned social events and unplanned cultural events, activities which cannot receive money from SAC or SPEC according to the groups' guidelines. Though both organizations fund student groups, their criteria for alloting money is different. SAC funds many cultural activities which must submit specific plans before they receive money. SPEC gives money to campus-wide social activities which are initially unplanned and coordinated between SPEC and student organizations. Esteban, who was involved in last year's JCB negotiations, said it was established that student organizations seeking money may only approach either SPEC or SAC, not both. The JCB would be a five-member committee made up of SAC, SPEC and UA representatives and funded by SAC and SPEC. Student groups which hope to receive funding from the JCB will need a sponsor from both SAC and SPEC. Student activities would be funded by the JCB when they have been unanimously approved by JCB members. "[The JCB] is going to be a much easier process," said Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Jeff Lichtman. Esteban said that, at times last year, student groups were "thrown into an abyss" and did not know which was the appropriate government organization to approach for funding. This, Esteban said, created animosity between SAC and SPEC. "We [both SAC and SPEC] want these good activities to happen," said Esteban. "It frustrates the committee to see these loopholes come up." "SPEC exec[utive board] is meeting early next week to hammer out any concerns, and then we will be presenting this to Steering," said Todd, a College senior. "I look foward to working with SAC to resolve this important issue." "SAC and SPEC have been working diligently for months," Todd continued. "We want to make sure the JCB is a positive addition to student government before everything offically goes into effect." Esteban said that she will be frustrated if SPEC does not agree to participate in the JCB. "I don't really think they can lose anything [by participating in the JCB]," Esteban said. She pointed out that SPEC, which was founded in 1989, is still a relatively new organization on campus and is still establishing policy. Esteban was a member of SPEC Steering Committee for three semesters during her freshman and sophomore years.