Student leaders decided to finance a group supporting working class students and are set to later determine financial eligibility for a student group combatting sexual assault.
The Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee voted Monday on the financing eligibility of the Working Class Student Union and heard a presentation by the student organization Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment.
WSCU is a student organization focused on supporting working class students as well as first generation, nontraditional and transfer students. The organization made a financial eligibility presentation to SSFC last Thursday seeking funding.
SSFC members voiced concerns on which programs in the group’s financial plan, such as a movie night that involves a dialogue and a working class art night, should be considered core or supportive programming. Members also questioned which events qualified as experiential learning.
Ultimately, committee members determined the WSCU’s plans meet the funding criteria, voting 11-0 in favor of the organization’s eligibility with four abstentions.
SSFC also heard an eligibility presentation by the student organization PAVE.
PAVE focuses on preventing sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking. In its presentation, PAVE outlined a number of programs and campaigns it considers to be core components of its financial plan.
Among these programs are events tailored to awareness months like domestic violence in October and sexual assault in February.
PAVE also outlined plans for a bus and poster campaign aimed at setting a new standard of response and prevention to sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.
The organization described many of the campaigns and programs as having the educational benefit of providing “civic knowledge and engagement” on the issues at hand.
SSFC will vote on PAVE’s funding eligibility Thursday.
In special orders, SSFC discussed its expectations for what it wants to hear from the Wisconsin Union regarding its budget plans. SSFC aims to establish expectations for Union financial staff early in the process to avoid later confusion.
SSFC Vice Chair Thuy Pham talked about the importance of knowing how student segregated fees are spent by the Union.
“This committee was put out for a specific reason: So we can oversee the spending of student segregated fees,” Pham said.
