SGA awards funds
MACRoCK only group denied money
By Jordan Funderburk, staff writer
Posted on November 16, 2006

SGA allocated $35,073.15 for various university organizations during Tuesday’s session. Some organizations won, and some lost.

The SGA decided to award seven organizations funds for the upcoming fiscal year. The Mid-Atlantic College Radio Conference was the only club to be denied funding.
           
MACRoCk co-head coordinator Harper Holsinger said the organization was not allowed to present its case to SGA to seek funds Tuesday night. He said MACRoCk put in an application but said he was alerted on Tuesday that the organization would not be allowed to present in front of the Senate.

Cinemuse, an organization specializing in classic and foreign films, received $3,300 in order to sponsor a film festival. Cinemuse plans on showing six films in two days during February to give students the chance to experience independent and lesser-known films.

The College Republicans received the most financial assistance, mainly for a speaker they will be bringing to the university. The SGA was split on how much funding to give the organization, as the speaker is estimated to cost $4,000. Overall, the College Republicans were allocated $6,470.

The philosophy honor group Phi Sigma Tau received $3,494 to fund six speakers. The environmental group EARTH will also be funding speakers, for which the organization was given $9,908.

Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, along with the Latino Student Alliance and Students for Minority Outreach, received $4,800 in order to hold a new event to help local minority students attend college. The program will bring approximately 25 Harrisonburg High School students to JMU in order to see the benefits of attending college. The event will include three speakers, workshops and shadowing college students to see what college is like.

The SGA started allocating program grants two years ago. Treasurer Robert Burden said the process of granting funds is still new and Tuesday’s grants were the most university programs have requested in one semester.

Student Body President Brandon Eickel (Jr.) said overall all the organizations walked away happy.

“Hopefully [the groups] can put on some exciting events for the JMU community,” he said.

Following the approval of program grants, the SGA decided to pass a bill supporting college students being allowed to vote locally. The bill, which was originally written at the College of William & Mary and would allow all Virginia colleges to pass it, hopes to let college students register and vote locally.

This would no longer require college students to use absentee ballots and would also allow them to affect the local communities that impact their respective colleges.