The results of this semester’s Student Government budget requests have faced varying reactions from club officers. Some clubs can now function at full potential with enough financial support, while other clubs face uphill challenges.
According to Student Government Treasurer Christo Maheras ‘26, 110 clubs requested a total of $700,000. Student Government had $400,000 to allocate, an increase from the fall semester due to money that went unused by clubs.
Of that amount, $360,000 was allocated to all clubs.
“The $40,000 in reserve will be used to fulfill unanticipated and food requests that arise through the semester,” Maheras wrote in an email. “Clubs can expect that unanticipated requests will be treated with a great deal of scrutiny.”
He added that clubs are expected to fundraise if they require funds beyond their budgets.
“With unlimited want and very limited capability to give money, clubs will have to be creative with their ways of fundraising,” Maheras wrote.
Uma Surampudi ‘24, the vice president of development for Lafayette for Reproductive Autonomy Justice and Empowerment, said her club requested a higher amount than necessary to receive adequate funding.
“We over-requested and asked for $5,000, and they gave us $3,500,” Surampudi said. “We did end up getting what we needed.”
Surampudi emphasized that her club’s budget will allow for the distribution of free reproductive health products to students and that they are satisfied with the given budget.
Lafayette Ski and Board team received sufficient funding for the financing of all excursions during their regular season, according to Tess Boyler ‘25, the president of the organization. Proper monetary support is crucial for the coordination of their five race weekends – this includes registration, lodging and other nominal fees.
“There’s a couple of sports teams like us that typically get a little bit more funding than other teams only because our registration is so expensive,” Boyler said. “We’ve gotten a lot more than we expected, which has been a lot more than in the past two years.”
Meanwhile, Marisa Carroll ‘25, president of Cadence and operations manager of Marquis Players, has had differing experiences with budget allocations. While some of her budget expectations have been met over the years, others have fallen short.
According to Carroll, Cadence received 70 percent of the funding it requested, which is enough to purchase arrangements for the semester. Meanwhile, Marquis Players was granted 60 percent of their request, leading to difficulties in affording quality and safety-conscious set designs.
“We did not get the full funding that we had asked for, even after we had written in the description that the full amount is necessary for safety concerns,” Carroll said.
Student Government held budget committee office hours twice a week during the first weeks of the term, creating an opportunity for clubs to discuss their budgets.
Carroll added that while members of Marquis Players attended budget office hours, their request for additional support was not approved.
“I definitely think that the system could be improved,” Carroll said. “There could be hopefully a time where all clubs are able to get the funding that they need.”
