SFB lauded the Progressive Student Alliance (PSA) as an exemplary club and granted its full budget request, at $1,009, in its regular meeting last week.
Although the club functioned without a budget for the past year, it held weekly events and programs on and off campus, and fell under the "New Club Budget" category under SFB governance.
Janelle Williams, assistant chairperson, said PSA is one of the most active groups on campus.
"I always see them out there, doing stuff, almost every day. These are students who are passionate about what they do," Williams said.
Ryan Fehr, PSA representative, said that its members collectively spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in personal funds in order to produce programs such as the Trenton chapter of Food, Not Bombs, which collects groceries and restaurant supplies that companies would otherwise discard.
Fehr said a bulk of the new budget will support Food, Not Bombs, but will also provide PSA with money to travel to protests and rallies in Washington D.C., produce fliers and brochures and attend guest lectures, as well as bring a keynote speaker here.
The budget passed 12-0-1. Mike Cilia, SGA vice president of administration and finance, abstained.
In a separate decision, SFB debated over the Leadership Development Program's (LDP) request for $5,434 to send three students to LeaderShape, an institute that teaches leadership skills.
On the grounds that the program's $1,450 tuition was too high, SFB agreed to give LDP $3,376 by a majority of one vote. Craig Gross, SFB director of communications, asked the board to vote on that amount, which includes sending two students with $408 in airfare and contributing $100 out-of-pocket.
Gross said each board member must consider whether the campus would get its money's worth by approving the program, in which students have the option of forming a LeaderShape Institute at the College.
Donnie Thompson, SFB senior representative, did not agree. "I'm really not comfortable with this amount. Conferences in general are a waste of money," Thompson said.
SFB members also asked SGA to revise its request for $13,848 to produce student planners. With a vote of 11-0-2, SFB decided to grant no funds, and instead suggested that the students involved seek out companies willing to take ads as a way to defray the cost.
The Irish-American Club received $4,405 to bring the band Gaelic Storm to the College for a May performance in a unanimous vote.
The band's music is featured in the Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet film Titanic.
The Irish-American Club will spend $3,500 to pay Gaelic Storm, $805 for the band's hotel accommodations and $100 to set up a sound system in Rathskellar for the performance.
