By Matthew Maloney
Whenever a student pays for his/her tuition, there’s a fee for Student Government. Though only $10 per student, the collected amount of that fee ended up being $150,000 this past year at Pikes Peak Community College.
This fee pays for all Student Government functions, such as conferences held in other cities. These funds also buy tickets for theater productions, and provide clubs with money for different functions if they so request according to Student Government procedures.
The following information answers the question: “What is this fee good for?”
ASID $194
Dance Appreciation $1,000
DTSC Gallery $3,000
Fine Arts Center $1,000
Masquers $11,000
Phi Theta Kappa $1,620
SCRID $2,500
Social Work Club $150
Club Total $20,464
Student Activities $33,804
Student Center $30,996
Student Government $21,465
Student Life DTSC $8,100
Student Life RRC $8,100
Total $102,465
The total of Student Government expenses amounted to around $122,000 this fiscal year. Using the approximate numbers, this means $28,000 was leftover.
Where does this mondy go? The remainder goes to the SG contingency fund, reserved for Student Government functions and other “contingencies” that may arise during the school year.
To receive funds from Student Government, the organization requesting money must appear before the SG Budget Hearing Committee held in early April. The request must be submitted to the Student Life, which will take it to the committee in order to deliberate the proper allocation for the group’s request. By mid-April they will make their decision for those allocations.
In early May, Student Government will release a memo to each of the organizations to notify them of their funding levels for the next fiscal year. The approved organizations will receive their summer funds by July, fall funds by September, and spring funds by the following February. No request will be accepted before the set deadline that spring.
The committee has a number of “general considerations” concerning funding of a certain group or club, like the “number of students served proportion to the amount of money granted,” “perceived benefit of the organization to PPCC and students,” and “accountability.” Mostly, SG prefers the clubs that receive funding act with common sense.
The best way for a club to sell its proposal to Student Government is by its past behavior. That is the only assured way to get SG approval.
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