Collegiate Times

Last week we held the second “The VP is In” session of the semester, this time at the Graduate Life Center. Let me share with you some brief notes on what was on the minds of students. 

A representative from the Entrepreneur Club came to ask about obtaining funding for the club. We determined that this is a Registered Student Organization, and I suggested that the club apply for funding through the RSO Budget Board process.

I directed the group to the Student Activities Office in Squires Student Center and to Steve Burrell, in particular, who can give the group specific information about the funding options available to them. This led to further discussion about how student organizations are funded. I explained that there are three basic categories of student organizations. The groups called University Student Life Programs obtain their funding through university departments since their mission is so tied to a department.

The second group, the Chartered Student Organizations, which are basically the organizations represented on the Commission on Student Affairs, receive their funding through the Student Budget Board annual funding allocation process. RSOs, which encompass most of our organizations and include individual fraternity and sorority chapters, are eligible for funding through the RSO Budget Board.

A question was raised about what is happening with the membership discussions in the Commission on Student Affairs. The student organizations represented on the CSA have traditionally been our CSOs since the new classification of student organizations system went into effect back in the mid 90s.

The challenge that has developed over the years is that more and more RSOs have become CSOs and have, by practice, been given a seat on the CSA. This has had two consequences: The size of the commission has grown, and we have set ourselves up with a perpetual problem of a commission that continues to grow in membership and is already by far the largest of the eight commissions of the governance system.

The second consequence is that the proportionate representation of graduate students has declined over the years, since nearly all of the RSOs that have become CSOs have been undergraduate organizations. So, the current discussions on future CSA membership are designed to come up with proposals to: reduce the size of the commission and allocate student seats appropriately between undergraduate and graduate students.

Next there was a discussion about new student-orientated newspapers. There was concern expressed by all about the nature of “The Black Sheep,” which describes itself as “a college newspaper that is actually about college.” Students present were not supportive of the orientation and content of that newspaper. It was also noted that another newspaper, “The Odyssey,” is scheduled to begin appearing, and to be focused on the Greek community and the positive accomplishments of that community. 

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A version of this article appeared in the Nov 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.