Water Ski and Cycling Clubs
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) denied multiple requests for competition funding by both the Water Ski and Cycling clubs.
The limit of requests for competition funding is six per budgetary bill, and therefore the remaining requests were removed as violations of bylaws, according to JFC chair Charley Crosson.
However, the clubs were encouraged to return to SGA next semester to ask for funding for additional competitions in a new bill.
Night at the Woodruff
Representatives of Woodruff Night requested funding from SGA for buses to transport Tech students from campus to the Woodruff Arts Center. SGA bylaws specifically dictate that transportation less than 250 miles cannot be funded by the student activity fund.
However, because Woodruff Night is an SGA event and has received high student turnout in the past, most representatives and senators felt that JFC policy should be waived.
“Cutting transportation funding would jeopardize this unique cultural opportunity that reaches many hundreds of students each year,” said Justin Keating, SGA community relations chair and a third-year BA major.
Others expressed discontent at SGA’s internal funding leeway.
“It’s hypocritical to fund our own transportation when we don’t do it for others. We should do it across the board instead of just for our events,” said Greg Jones, undergraduate member-at-large and third-year ME major.
TOMS Campus Club
TOMS Campus Club requested funding for their Style Your Sole Party to buy decorating supplies. JFC amended the total receivable amount to $0, after which both branches of SGA failed to pass the bill, despite petitions by Ali Kimm, club president and a fourth-year BA major, that the event would serve to inspire students to social change.
There was virtually no discussion in UHR regarding why representatives did not approve the bill.
JFC Chair Charley Crosson and Speaker of the House Brooke McDaniel advised the body at large to avoid rejecting a bill without voicing their opinions as to why they opposed the bill, especially when the organization’s representative was present in the room.
GSS did express multiple objections to the bill as the basis of their rejection. Katherine Schnure, PSYCH senator, articulated concerns about the corporate relationship that the TOMS Campus Club maintains with the shoe company. Because TOMS is a for-profit company and the event would significantly promote it, SGA policy prohibits the allocation of funding to the event.
Plane Refurbishment
The Yellow Jacket Flying Club (YJFC) secured funding to refurbish a training aircraft. One of four planes owned by the YJFC, the trainer aircraft had not been refurbished in over thirty years. Avionics failures were a primary safety concern, as well as corrosion from worn paint.
“[This refurbishment] will substantially decrease the transition time of student pilots from one airplane to the other, not to mention standardize our fleet,” said Dustin Kilgore, president of the YJFC and a fourth-year AE major. “These safety improvements are crucial for the YJFC to continue to operate two trainer aircraft and allow sufficient access for anyone in the Tech community to pilot training.”
Water Polo Club
The Water Polo Club came to the SGA for financial assistance in paying for janitorial costs associated with hosting annual Men’s National Club Championship at the CRC. JFC rejected the costs, saying it was against policy to cover for costs for hosting a tournament.
However, because the student body at large felt that the Water Polo Club had been slighted earlier in the year since they were not given any input in picking the host university this year and were at the receiving end of serious costs, UHR waived JFC recommendation and passed the bill, reasoning that this competition would showcase the GT facilities to the rest of the nation and add value to the name of the institution.
The GSS reasoned that the club was in fact saving money by hosting the event on Tech’s campus instead of at an off-campus location, given the high expense associated with transporting the club to another university.