Wichita State’s Student Senate spent the better part of two meetings discussing several proposed changes to procedures for funding students and organizations. At its Wednesday night meeting, the Senate failed the bill, only to bring it back 30 minutes later to keep debating. 

The bill will make a number of changes, including lowering caps on funding for some organizations, raising other caps and taking the responsibility of approving funding away from the Senate. 

Joseph Roberts, a former engineering senator and current officer of WSU’s Shocker Racing, spoke against the bill at the meeting. In particular, Roberts opposed a $20,000 cap on “exceptions” to normal funding rates, calling it “harmful to the health and future of student life on this campus.”

“These student organizations are not sitting on piles of cash,” Roberts said. “They’re stretching every dollar they have to host events, travel to competitions, build things, rent venues, buy materials and feed the dozens, sometimes hundreds of students who engage with them. The organizations here that ask for larger budgets aren’t doing it for vanity; they’re doing it because their work has real reach … These groups bring value to their entire campus.”

According to SGA’s treasurer, Jia Wen Wang, the cap was set according to the non-formal maximum amount of funding that the Finance Commission grants. 

Maximum for organizations

SGA considers funding requests from organizations based on a three-tier system. Tier one organizations have monthly meetings, tier two have on-campus events in addition to meetings and tier three are organizations that participate in conferences or competitions. 

The act decreased the maximum amount for Tiers 2 and 3; from $7,500 to $5,000 and $15,000 to $10,000, respectively. The rule states that exceptions to the Tier 3 limit, which are now not to exceed $20,000, can be made by the treasurer.

A few senators expressed concern about the cap on exceptions, echoing Roberts’ argument. But others spoke in favor, arguing that the change was practical based on how much organizations typically receive, and would place a check on irresponsible spending in the future, especially considering the funding challenges SGA expects to face. 

Sen. Josh Mallard said the cap would help ensure that smaller organizations are not left without funding. 

“We’re trying to set it so that we don’t have to cut (organizations),” he said. “We still have to find a way to support everyone.”

Who decides on funding requests?

Through the proposed changes, the Senate also removed its own ability to approve or deny allocation of funds to individual students and student organizations, instead putting that task in the hands of the Finance Commission.

Individual WSU students and student organizations can request funds from SGA. Currently, the Senate must vote to approve individual and organizational funding requests after they go through the treasurer and the Finance Commission. The requests are typically put on the Senate’s consent agenda and passed without debate. 

“They’re (individual and organizational funding requests) not really contentious and I ultimately trust Finance Commission to make those snap judgments and have those conversations,” Speaker of the Senate Victoria Owens said at the April 9 meeting where the changes were first debated. 

Restrictions on what funding can be used for: conflict with current funding

Additional changes were made to what organizations and individuals can request funding for. Previously, organizations could not request any funding that would go to programs or projects intended to help them fundraise. The changes would allow them to request up to $250 for those initiatives. A section barring the use of organizational funding to buy clothing was removed, as long as that clothing is for an official purpose and a section banning use for any partisan political campaigns or lobbying was added. 

The last part, regarding requesting funds for certain political initiatives, conflicts with funding granted earlier at the very same meeting, according to Vice President Mathew Phan. 

WSU Young Democrats was granted funding, a request Phan said would have been in violation of the new rule. So, Phan proposed an amendment suspending that section until the following year, which the Senate approved for addition to the bill. 

Back and forth

The bill was originally debated at the Senate’s April 9 meeting, but no vote was held and it was moved to the following week due to a time constraint. 

The bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass. At the April 16 meeting, it failed with a vote of eight in favor, five against and five abstaining. 

Mallard moved to reconsider the bill for debate again later in the meeting. He encouraged senators who had abstained to reconsider their previous votes.

SGA’s ethics code requires senators who believe their position in a student organization or another conflict of interest would impede their ability to vote without bias. 

“You abstain if you believe that you will vote biasedly — if you believe that you are voting not for your organization but for the whole (of the student body),” Mallard said. “There are organizations that do request a lot of money … but if you believe that you can vote without violating the bias policy and you’re not doing it for your own (organization), you can vote yes or no.” 

The bill passed with 13 in favor, two against and three abstaining.

Students can view a recording of the meeting, live streamed on SGA’s YouTube channel. A copy of SGA’s rules regarding funding, including the changes made, is available here.