Correction appended.
The Ohio Student Anthropology Society, or OSAS, arranged a volunteer trip to a museum in New Straitsville as an experiential learning opportunity for its members, but its funding request was denied by the Student Senate Appropriations Committee, or SAC.
SAC has specific policies in place to regulate the amount of money it is able to give to Ohio University student organizations. Currently, SAC does not provide funding to organizations participating in non-competition-based travel.
“We get the money through student tuition, so that's why we fund events that are open to the whole student body,” Liz BeHage, a senior chemical engineering major and SAC commissioner, said. “We don't fund travel that isn't for competitions because competitions … are representing the school, and students can go to it, but travel elsewhere (is) closed to the student body.”
The Ohio Student Anthropology Society was unaware of this SAC rule before it applied for funding, Emma Lawrence, a senior studying anthropology and vice president of the Ohio Student Anthropology Society, said. Normally, the club held fundraisers for its museum trip when it would take place in the spring, but because it was during the Fall Semester this year due to a partnership with the Anthropology Learning Community, it did not have enough time to raise the money.
“In the past when funding our events, we have applied for SAC emergency funding, and it has usually been approved. That's how we funded our start-of-the-year party,” Lawrence said. “But this was a little bit of a different situation because this was the first time we asked for funding for travel.”
The OSAS had applied for funding from SAC but was denied and referred to the Campus Involvement Center, or CIC, for assistance in finding other sources. Additionally, she said the Experiential Learning Center was unable to provide funds, though Jim Sabin, university spokesperson, said that doesn’t exist. It’s called the Experiential Learning Hub.
Ultimately, the club had to fund the trip itself as well as use personal funds from Nancy Taterek, the anthropology learning community adviser and associate professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The OSAS and Tatarek were both surprised the request for funding had been denied.
“If (SAC) is going to start being picky about what they fund, I think they should fund things that are within the university's mission,” Tatarek said. “What I've heard in the past is that community outreach and community exchange with the larger Athens area was something that the university was trying to encourage.”
SAC attributes the denial of funds to Senate rules and procedures that state SAC is not able to provide funding for non-competition-based travel unless it has been planned in the semesterly budget for the organization.
Next semester, competition-based travel will also not be funded unless it is included in the organization’s semesterly budget. SAC provided an exception to the rule to comply with the scheduling difficulties that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic. This semester, an organization traveling to a competition is eligible for SAC funding for either $150 per person or a $3,000 total cap on travel expenses.
When COVID-19 started, SAC decided to fund travel for competitions biweekly because many events could not be planned in advance for this semester, BeHage said. SAC made the exception for the Fall Semester only and, next semester, competition-based travel will need to be planned in order to receive funding from the SAC’s semesterly budget for the organization.
Lawrence is disappointed with the situation and thinks SAC should offer options other than last-minute fundraising for non-competition travel expenses.
“It's really frustrating because … they have this expectation (that) student orgs should go engage with the community,” Lawrence said. “But how can we do that if we can't afford to go off-campus and (SAC) won't support us?”
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Lawrence said the CIC denied the group funding when the group had only been directed to the CIC for assistance in finding other sources of funding. It also stated that the “Experiential Learning Center” was unable to provide funds, but Sabin said that doesn’t exist. It’s called the “Experiential Learning Hub.” This article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
