‘We are going to be as equitable as possible’
SBAC Committee receives a flurry of allocation request prior to semester deadline
Students wait for Central Michigan University Student Government Associations general board meeting at the Bovee University Center on March 3, 2025. (CM Life | Blace Carpenter)
The Student Budget Allocation Committee (SBAC) for Central Michigan University's Student Government Association received over 50 funding requests just before the application period for the semester closed on Feb. 28.
With $24,113 left for student organization (RSO) projects and $2,730 remaining for conference trips, SGA Treasurer Akua Acheampong said SBAC’s budget may not be able to support all requests.
“We are going to be as equitable as possible,” Acheampong said. “This is a difficult situation.”
According to Acheampong, the committee was given $80,000 for the year, and it currently doesn’t know how much these allocations will impact the remaining budget. She said she has been pushing RSOs to apply for SBAC funding and was surprised by the number of allocations requests the committee received before the spring semester’s deadline.
“This year, what I really tried to do was market it as much as possible,” she said. “So now everyone knows about it.”
Junior Madison Marker is a RSO representative for Mid-Mitten Weather View and the Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. She said that after years of receiving SBAC funding for both organizations’ conference trips, the funding might be at risk.
“I’m hoping they take RSO rep. attendance into account and ... seniority,” Markers said.
SBAC looks at an RSO representative's attendance as well as any supporting documents attached to an organization’s request to help determine their allocation amount. During the meeting, Acheampong said that funding is on a “first come, first serve” basis.
She said that her and the committee will continue to review each request more in depth and aim to assist organizations as much as they are able.
“We don’t plan on going in the red,” Acheampong said. “We know what we have but we don’t know how much everyone is asking for. We are going to tally out how much everyone is asking for and see how best we can allocate.”
SGA reviews legislative sessions discussions
During the meeting, the SGA House of Representatives held a group session to review the legislative ideas students created over the past two meetings. Students suggested several changes on different campus topics such as housing and dining, campus safety, student services and academic processes.
Speaker of the House Christian Dunn said the next steps in drafting new legislation is to possibly bring in speakers related to these ideas for the next legislative session.
“The benefit would be that the students ask them questions directly, rather than me providing (administrators or other possible speakers) a set list of questions,” Dunn said. “I feel like there's more emotion with having an actual person there.”
SGA operates similarly to an American Democracy. After legislation is drafted, it must pass through the senate and house before being signed off by SGA President Carolina Ruiz Hernandez. After her approval, it will then be presented to the University’s Board of Trustees and president.
In three weeks, Dunn said he is looking at preparing possible legislative documents. He said the approval process for legislation varies depending on what the association is trying to push.
“It could be two weeks or five weeks, depending on how people like it or don’t like it,” he said.
In other news:
- SGA is collecting signatures from students to determine who will be eligible for candidacy in this year’s election. After signatures are collected, candidates who are eligible will be able to make their official announcement to run for their desired role in the association.
- Assistant Director of Residential Education Audrey Elworth spoke with SGA students about a survey sent to all dorm residents, asking about their experience and for any improvements the university can make. Elworth said the survey should’ve been sent to students last night and to email her with any questions.
