Funding increase proposed

By Dan Bredfield- Editor in Chief   

            In a Feb. 7 issue of The Courier, Geoff Edwards,, Student Senate President, was quoted as saying, "Right now we are strategizing on a presentation that will be presented before the college budget hearings."

            On Mar. 20, Edwards and Treasurer Rebecca Cook made that proposal on behalf of the Student Senate during the recent budget hearings. Their proposal was heard by the President's Council, which is comprised of the President  and the five Vice Presidents, and the Faculty and Institutional Development (F.I.D.), a group of faculty members.

            The proposal called for an increase in the Student Senate's budget, which they would allocate to their activities fund.  The activities fund is used to help fund organizations. Currently, the budget available to student organizations is right around seven thousand dollars a year. The proposal, however, requests an additional twenty-five thousand dollars to be allocated to the Student Senate to use in their activities fund.

            According to Edwards, organizations requested nearly 25 thousand dollars in funds, but the Student Senate did not have a large enough budget to fulfill all those requests. Organizations must fill out a request specifying an amount of money, and how that organization will use the money.

            The Student Senate passed a bill allowing the executive board to go through with the request for an increase. Edwards contacted six schools said to be Monmouth College's competitors to learn how much money was allocated to their Student Governments.

            "I sat down and made phone calls to other colleges to figure out their current budget for Student Government or their program board. The program board would allocate money to student organizations. I also asked if they operated under a student activity fee, and found out that most did," said Edwards.

            The proposal at the budget hearings took into account some of the changes that have occurred since the last increase, which was in 1996. Some of the changes accounted for include the increase in enrollment, increased tuition, and an increase in student organizations. It also took into account the college's goal of increasing student enrollment to 1,200 students.

            "I think many student organizations don't attempt to request money because of the limited funds we have." When asked what he felt the impact the proposal would have if passed as is, Edwards responded, "I think it would provide for more programs and better programs."

            Now, the President’s Council and the F.I.D. will look at the Student Senate’s proposal, as well as other proposals heard during the hearings, and they will discuss priorities.

            Accoring to Jacquelyn Condon, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students, Monmouth College, like other colleges, has been hit hard, and is  not drawing as much from their endowment as normal.

            After deciding upon all the proposals submitted, the council must present their decisions to the trustees for approval. That meeting will take place late in the spring.