Representatives from student groups sat in the lobby of the Associated Students Headquarters on Monday, waiting to be called in front of the Finance Committee to request funding for their organizations.
CSUN’s chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars anticipated a cost of $1,800 for the Hunger Banquet that members are planning to have on Nov. 27. The organization plans to raise $400 through fund-raisers, and brought the request for the $1,400 to the finance committee.
The Hunger Banquet will be free to all CSUN students and will be featuring a speaker from the L.A. Food Shelter to raise awareness of the problem of hunger in the United States. “Fifteen percent of Americans are upper-class, 25 percent are middle class and 60 percent are lower class,” NSCS member Nancy Trieu said. “We have enough food to feed everyone equally, but the food is distributed unequally.”
The performance ensemble, a program within the Department of Communication Studies sought $4,900 of funding for an event called “Miscegenations.” During the event, interracial couple, Lea Robinson and Elizabeth Whitney, will facilitate a multi-mediated account of relationships that cross boundaries of race, sexuality and gender identity, as stated in the group’s project overview.
As the committee discussed recommendations for funding of the event, David Crandall, the finance committee’s general manager, said the Department of Communications Studies already receives Instructionally Related Activities funding of $3,500 a year, but members were reminded that this money is for the entire department and for the entire year. After considering these factors the group unanimously voted to recommend $900 of funding for the Department of Communication Studies’ Performance Ensemble.
Briana Simmons, an art history student, wanted to receive funding for her trip to Michoacan, Mexico to learn about the practices involved in the celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). “I want to focus on how the commercialization of Halloween in the United States has affected indigenous Day of the Dead Celebrations,” said Simmons. “I realize that there is a $1,000 cap for this type of research, but what I am requesting goes beyond that,” said Simmons, who requested $1,358 in funding.
La Familia de CSUN, an organization of about 20 members that’s only in its second year on campus, focuses on queer issues in the Latino/a community. The group, which calls itself a Joteria student-based organization because of its comprised of people of various sexual orientations and preferences, is planning to attend the 9th Annual National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies Joto Caucus, which will be held at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
Group member Jose Manuel Santillana, said, “In the past, the attendees have only been from the UC system. We want to change that. We want to network with a lot of other organizations and student activists.”
The group requested $1,040 to send 16 members to the conference called “Towards a Queer Homeland: Bridging Communities and Resisting Hate.”
The Young Democrats are also planning to send group members to a conference. This leadership conference will be taking place in Lake Tahoe in the beginning of November. Besides the conference, the Young Democrats want to conduct events that raise political awareness on campus. “We just want to get (students) politically involved, even if they want to be Republican,” a Young Democrats representative said.
The finance committee recommended that the group be allocated $600 for the conference, but the committee also recommended that the organization fill out an annual budget, as all CSUN clubs and organizations are encouraged to complete an annual budget request for expenses and events that they are planning for the academic year. If more money is needed, they can also request supplemental funding.
After discussing each student’s request, the committee unanimously voted to recommend the allocation of $750 to NSCS for its second annual Hunger Banquet, $600 to La Familia de CSUN for its members to attend the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies Joto Caucus, and $500 for Briana Simmons to conduct her study of Dia de los Muertos in Mexico, from the Art History Department.
The final decisions for funding will be made at next week’s A.S Senate meeting.
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