Since we are halfway through the spring semester, talks of the Student Government Association’s (SGA) budget carousel is starting to circulate around clubs on campus. Well known for their week of homecoming activities and the end of the spring semester celebration, Springfest, SGA has control over clubs and other organizations. A controversial aspect of SGA is being in charge of distributing funds to clubs and organizations. In Spring 2023, a record amount of appeals were filed by clubs for not receiving enough funding, which raises the question, should SGA be in charge of giving clubs their funding?
One editor said, “I don’t believe SGA should be handling the budget for 30+ different clubs and it should definitely go to the higher ups. I feel like depending on who you know in SGA they will definitely favor certain clubs and how much budget they give them rather than other clubs. I feel the higher ups would do a better job in distributing the money more evenly.”
In regard to possible favoritism among clubs and knowing peers involved in SGA, one editor commented, “I don’t think it is fair or seems right for students in SGA to be giving other students funding. I do think that there can be a lot of biases whether we realize it or like to admit it, I think when you have students who all attend the same school, who know each other, or at least the club’s certain people are in, biases are bound to happen. Therefore, it becomes unfair to other students and clubs.”
Another editor believes that students should have the control, “I like that SGA decides where funding goes as opposed to administration because I think it gives the students more of a voice.”
With the many active clubs on campus, some do not receive adequate funding to have events. One editor believes, “The lack of funding significantly contributes to what clubs can do on campus. Although it’s obvious that big clubs like SAB are going to have more funding as they host the majority of events on campus, I think it also hinders what other clubs are able to do for the student body.”
Further, another editor shared, “As a member of a club that receives merely nothing from SGA, we are constantly struggling to find funds to complete projects or actually get things we want. It’s sad because our club has made major strides recently and has huge accomplishments in the past, yet we still receive less funding than most clubs. I think if we were given the proper amount, so many more students would benefit from our club and its programs.”
“Budgets are quite literally the only way clubs can do anything on campus. Sure, you can fundraise yourself, but then again how are you able to fundraise if you have a little budget to start with? Of course, some clubs require more money than others for extraneous reasons, but every club should have the ability to provide a decent club experience for their members, another editor said”
Larger clubs do receive more funding because they are in charge of activities for students, however, SGA is a large student organization, and does not put on many events. An editor said, “I’m not sure if SGA keeps a lot of money for themselves, but they very well could. I would hope the advisors of the club would prevent this from happening.”
Another editor speculated, “If they don’t hold a lot of events they probably don’t have any money left over for themselves unless they just keep it a secret or perhaps they just save it in a piggy bank for a rainy day.”
One editor believes, “They probably do have a good amount of money that they are keeping to themselves and not giving out.”
SGA has a continuous record of giving less than sufficient funding for clubs on campus, and with a controversial past, maybe it’s time for someone else to be in charge of the money. Monmouth prides itself on having an active student body, I think we’d all like to keep it that way.
