Student Congress’ most important job is distributing money to student organizations. When considering where the money will go, Student Congress should strive to understand the specific needs of each group.
Doing so will both expedite and improve the results of a process that’s burdened with a large increase in applicants.
This semester, Student Congress has seen a 60 percent increase in the number of applications for funding.
Due to cuts in other sources of revenue, more student organizations are turning to Student Congress for money.
Understandably, the process has to operate within certain parliamentary strictures. When a student organization requests funding, the request is first reviewed by the finance committee.
The request and preliminary grant amount are then reviewed by the general body of Student Congress. The organization can then appeal the grant amount.
This may seem overly bureaucratic, but the system ensures a good degree of student participation.
However, this doesn’t mean the process can’t be improved without overhauling the entirety of it.
A premium should be placed on understanding the roles and needs of individual groups during the application process.
