The Student Association Senate gave initial allocations to 20 new student organizations Tuesday and presented fines to several others that did not spend their fall allocation money.
The new student groups, which include the J.W. Fulbright International Affairs Club, Young Americans for Freedom, Near East Democratic Association, and the Finance and Investment Club, received initial allocations of $100 this semester compared to $75 last year.
“We realize $75 doesn’t go a long way in planning events,” said Eric Daleo, SA executive vice president.
Daleo said the publication Le Culte du Moi received the highest mid-year allocation with $500. He said the group existed last year but went inactive in the fall.
He added that old student groups rarely receive additional funding for mid-year allocations, but about 50 organizations lost money this semester. Groups that did not spend money from first semester paid 35 percent of their budget, and groups who did not submit a budget paid 15 percent.
The SA reclaimed $8,084 from fines against student organizations for its co-sponsorship fund.
“It’s all about helping the GW community,” said Mohammed Ali, chair of the SA finance committee. “There is more programming in the spring, so we did what we could.”
Two student group leaders attended the meeting to appeal the Finance Committee’s decisions. Tyler Kall, president of the X-Box Club, said he was concerned about whether his group would receive its initial allocation.
“There were concerns about our legitimacy as a club,” he said. “We had a massive response (at the beginning of the year). It provided a safe environment for students to get together and have fun.”
Representatives from Free the Planet also attended to appeal a $350 reduction of funds. Daleo said the group missed its opportunity to appeal, but the Senate voted to allow the group to avoid the fee.
The mid-year budget review bill also set aside funds for the SA election in February. The Joint Elections Committee, which runs the election, received $6,000, with $4,000 in reserve for any runoffs.
Ali said the JEC has not received that high of an amount in several years, but they would need extra funding because of a referendum asking students to raise the SA fee by 100 percent, or an additional $1 per credit hour.
