UMD’s SGA plans to crack down on student group funding appeals

Student groups that file funding appeals with the SGA might have a tougher time getting approved this year.  

Starting this semester, Student Government Association President Patrick Ronk said he will be tougher on groups that file appeals based on mistakes made in their initial applications. 

In the past, groups have made appeals based on emotion, as opposed to presenting structural or procedural objections, he said, noting the SGA would sometimes grant these appeals.

READ MORE: SGA lobbies to bring back online voter-registration system

“For every one group that is appealing that didn’t get funding, there’s a lot of other groups that didn’t get funding for the same reason and decided not to appeal,” Ronk said. “It’s important for people not to lose sight of that.” 

Throughout the academic year, there are six allocation periods when student groups can apply for and receive funding.  

This semester’s first allocation deadline was Monday. About 100 to 130 groups apply each period depending on the month, Ronk said.  

The largest mistake groups make when applying for funding is including or transcribing the incorrect documentation, Ronk said. 

READ MORE: SGA to vote on funding this year’s Crab Feast after low attendance last year

During the past couple of years, the Caribbean Students Association has appealed to the SGA, citing documentation discrepancies in its application and issues with understanding the SGA’s discretionary guidelines. 

“I understand not making an emotional appeal based off something that’s clearly delineated in the guidelines,” said Nandi McCammon, CSA’s former two-time president. “A policy that [the SGA] needs to explain more explicitly in their guidelines … is sufficient grounds for an appeal.”   

Ronk and Sarah Niezelski, SGA finance vice president, said it’s tough to deny groups funding, but they must treat each group fairly, which entails only granting appeals in special cases in which the SGA’s rules disadvantage a particular group.

“At the end of the day, it’s state money, and there are policies in place that have to be followed,” Niezelski said. “We need to be fair and equitable in everything we do. Consistency is a huge part of that.”

READ MORE: SGA looks into open-source textbooks as alternative for UMD students

She added that it’s beneficial that groups have the opportunity to apply for funding multiple times a year, and the SGA is willing to give feedback on applications for following months.

McCammon, who now serves as the Caribbean Fever Dance Troupe’s treasurer, said the SGA’s guidelines do not disadvantage the groups she is involved in, but added that the budget training required by the SGA for the treasurers and presidents of student groups could be more intensive. 

“Going to budget training didn’t give [our members] a clear picture of how to go about this process,” the senior family science major said. “It’s a very serious process, and sometimes I don’t know if they understand the importance of it for student groups.”  

While it’s important for student groups to understand the SGA’s guidelines and to thoroughly review their applications, McCammon said she hopes the SGA will recognize when genuine mistakes are made. 

“It can never hurt to appeal emotionally. I would never say nix that,” she said. “We’re students.  We’re human — and that’s where emotional appeals should be allowed.”