The College Democrats and College Republicans received a $40,000 co-sponsorship from the Student Association last week – the largest single co-sponsorship allocated this year – funds which will go toward a joint political debate with yet-to-be-announced big-name speakers.
The SA’s monetary support is the largest single allocation doled out in recent memory, and surpasses the combined cash the two groups received last month during the initial allocations process.
SA Finance Committee Chair Chris Clark said the planned event was awarded the sizable co-sponsorship because the CDs and CRs consistently prove to be well-run and draw a wide range of students.
“It is pretty substantial compared to others,” Clark said of the allocation.?”[But] this event will touch a great number of people who have split political views, and for that reason we gave them a substantial amount of money.”
The bulk of SA-funded programming comes in the form of co-sponsorships, which are different from the initial allocation amounts student organizations receive to cover operational costs. The second-largest allocation this year was $25,000 for Fall Fest, a free concert that brought the artists Wale and Travie McCoy to University Yard.
CR Chairman Jake Wolf said this event will be one of the largest the two organizations have held together.
“Both of our organizations believe it important to send a message that our parties can work together and create events that attract a large audience,” he said.
He said the majority of the event will be SA-funded, but added that each organization would contribute money of its own.
CDs President Josh Altman echoed Wolf’s sentiments.
“While the CDs and CRs may stand on opposing sides of the political spectrum, we are united by the shared desire to encourage political activism and a robust political dialogue,” Altman said.
In October, the SA allocated organizations more than half a million dollars in the initial allocations process, with $428,000 remaining for co-sponsorships, a record amount. The CR-CD co-sponsorship represents about 9 percent of the total co-sponsorship pool.
Recent co-sponsorships awarded include $1,000 for the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” $1,200 to GW Mock Trial and $18,000 to the dance competition Raas Chaos, Clark said. He noted that co-sponsorships are determined on a case-by-case basis, and that there is not an average amount given to organizations. Past CR-CD joint events have netted about $1,500 in SA co-sponsorships.
The $40,000 co-sponsorship is $20,000 more than what the SA allocated for 2008’s?Unity Ball.?Held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Greek life on campus and to celebrate diversity and school spirit, the ball was largely considered a waste of student-fee money, the source of the SA’s funding.
