The Associated Students of Madison's Finance Committee approved nearly $15,000 in funds Wednesday night, which is close to 30 percent of the committee's travel budget for the semester.
These funds will send Engineers Without Borders on a service project to Kenya and allow the Academic Advancement Program to send four students to China.
""At this rate, we will use all of our funds by mid-October,"" Matt Beemsterboer, chair of the Finance Committee, said. Beemsterboer said he does not believe international travel is the most effective use of the funds, which are available to all registered student organizations, but he acknowledged that there are no official holds in place to restrict it.
Initially, members of the council seemed hesitant to pass the bills. However, Student Services Finance Committee Chair Matt Manes urged council members to trust the discretion of the committee proposing the bill. Manes' statements appeared to resound with council members and the funds were eventually approved.
The SSFC allocated $6,500 to Engineers Without Borders to send six students to Kenya to help advance water filtration practice and further assess irrigation projects in the village of Orongo, according to ASM documents.
Additionally, about $8,000 will be given to the Academic Advancement Program to send four students to Shanghai and Beijing to help students understand relations between China and the U.S., gain knowledge of Chinese culture and learn from the other 190 or more nations that will send delegates to the conference, according to ASM documents.
The Constitutional Amendments to extend Student Judiciary terms from two years to four years and change voting procedures were also passed at Wednesday's meeting. Both amendments are scheduled to appear on the mid-October all-student ballot with a majority vote.
The Finance Committee also passed a $5,250 grant for a comedy event organized by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. The money will come from the Finance Committee's $250,000 event fund, which is also available to all registered student organizations. The comedy event is slated to be held at the Memorial Union and will be free and open to all university students.
