The Recognized Student Organization Funding Board gave initial approval for $3,592 for two events during its Monday meeting.
The first event was for the Friends of Nepal at University of Wyoming to host a Dasain celebration. Dasain is a 15-day religious festival and the largest celebrated by the Nepalese Hindu. The group plans to make the traditional meal and will have a “tikka” ceremony, which involves applying a red dot to the forehead.
The group recommended $1,622 for the small religious ceremony, during which it expects to feed approximately 150 people.
The Geography Club, also known as Gamma Theta Upsilon, requested $2,098 to host events related to Geography Week during the second week of November.
The group plans to bring in two speakers, one from Manhattan, Kansas, and one from the Department of Homeland Security in Cheyenne. The theme for Geography Week is “Declare your interconnectedness.”
The RSO Funding board voted to cut special service contracts and supplies, resulting in a final recommended amount of $1,970.
The Friends of Nepal at University of Wyoming and the Geography Club will go before the ASUW Senate Tuesday for final vote on the dollars.
ASUW Director of Finance Chris Haakinson cautioned the board about spending.
“The average event cost is about $1,000 higher this year than last year and we’ve funded seven less events. I would personally like to start cutting down on money, especially with copy,” Haakinson said.
According to Haakinson’s comparisons between Fiscal Year 2012 and Fiscal Year 2013, the RSO Funding Board has spent roughly $73,535 to fund 18 events, compared with the $77,014 spent on 25 events last year.
“The fact that we’ve handled significantly less requests and that each one was going for about 1,000 bucks more makes me a little nervous,” Sen. Hunter Christensen said.
“At the same time, I don’t think we’ve been throwing the money away,” Christensen said “We’ve been fulfilling our purpose and doing our homework, but I don’t think this is sustainable.”
The board discussed ways to curb spending throughout the rest of the year, suggesting legislation to require RSOs to cover a percentage of the event cost. This would be a stricter rule than currently is in place, where RSOs are only required to seek outside funding—not necessarily secure it.
