The Student Services Finance Committee denied the Multicultural Student Coalition's request to receive funding Thursday.
By a vote of 7-5, the SSFC ruled MCSC did not meet the requirement of allotting over 50 percent of its organizational time to providing direct services to students.
MCSC representatives said the group, which requested over $250,000 for 2012-2013, was ""disappointed"" in the ruling, and plans to appeal.
""MCSC is not one to take a decision and just let it stay,"" said MCSC executive Althea Miller. ""If we don't agree with it, we're going to fight it by any means necessary.""
In their eligibility hearing, MCSC estimated a majority of their time was dedicated to providing direct student services. But SSFC Rep. Cale Plamann was among the seven committee members who disagreed.
""Over the summer, the group made some major restructuring without paying close attention to the criteria,"" said Plamann.
Plamann said a major reason why some committee members voted to deny eligibility was the way MCSC classified components of their media service division as direct services.
According to Plamann, some of those services listed by MCSC were similar to those already provided by the Digital Media Center and the Multicultural Student Center, programs funded by the university.
Miller said MCSC strongly disagreed with the argument that certain their services were duplicated by the MSC.
""Our services are much richer and more applicable to students,"" Miller said. ""[MSC's] services don't begin to scratch the surface of what we offer.""
SSFC Rep. David Vines, who voted in favor of eligibility, agreed with Miller's sentiments.
In the media service division, Vines said MCSC allows students to acquire multimedia skills in a peer-to-peer setting, something significantly different from anything offered by the university, including the DMC and MSC.
Vines said he felt MCSC's direct services met SSFC's criteria.
""We took their conservative estimates [of direct services] and completely dismantled it by saying that the university provides substantial, direct services where, really, that is not the case,"" said Vines.
