By Sarah Neil
Correspondent
The Student Finance Board (SFB) held a general board meeting on Oct. 18 to discuss funding requests from New Jersey Christian Fellowship (NJCF), Chinese Student Association (CSA), Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) and Physics Club.
NJCF, which did not have representatives at the meeting, requested $2,000 for its Diversity Encounter event on Nov. 2. The event was described to the SFB as a multicultural celebration. They planned to have performances from cultural student organizations and a talk by an unnamed speaker.
“I looked at, like, the mission of this org and I feel this event doesn’t really align,” said Dominic Manzo, a sophomore finance major and the compliance director of the FSB.
Joey Dunn, a senior finance major and representative at large, agreed. He explained there was no evidence that diversity was a top priority for the organization and introduced a motion to zero-fund the event due to a lack of relevance to the organization’s mission. The motion passed.
Next on the agenda was CSA’s request for $1,350 for its upcoming DuChang event on Nov. 4. These funds would go toward buying Chinese card and board games, decorations, mocktails and raffle prizes. They also planned to hire a mock bartender.
Multiple members of the SFB debated whether or not to provide funding for refreshments. SFB only funds food and drink if they are deemed relevant to the purpose of the event.
Grace Raber, a sophomore accounting major, motioned to fund some parts of the event, namely decorations and game supplies, but not the mocktails or bartender. The motion passed.
Later, Sierra Truskolaski, the vice president of PPGA and a senior mechanical engineering and biology major, presented to the board asking for funding for PPGA’s Open Mic Night. The request for $250 would be used to buy drinks and prizes for the event.
PPGA had already made a post on Instagram advertising the event. SFB does not fund events that were publicized before getting funded.
“We told them to take it down and they refused,” said Manzo. “I think that they know they’re in violation of the guidelines.”
Manzo introduced a motion to zero-fund the event due to violations of SFB guidelines. The motion passed.
Finally, the Physics Club requested $854.78 for a laser tag event. The club's representatives hoped the event, which includes an informative lecture, would help to get students interested in physics.
"We want to bring it into the event in a fun way, where they’re having fun with physics and they’re learning at the same time and kind of create this kind seamless transition between the two," said Liam DaSilva, a junior physics and secondary education major and the club’s chair of community outreach.
A large sum of the money requested by the organization would be used for purchasing bunkers for players to hide behind during the game. Manzo asked if the club would be willing to let SFB use the bunkers for other organizations’ events. DaSilva said they would.
Christine Stellerine, SFB’s advisor, noted that the club also requested funds to purchase a balloon pump. Seeing its usefulness, she suggested the board purchase the pump themselves from their office supply line so that all organizations could have access to it.
Dominic Manzo motioned to fully fund the event with the price of the balloon pump excluded from the sum. The motion passed, providing the club with roughly $835.
Afterward, the Board remarked on their admiration of the club’s professionalism and well-constructed request.
"Snaps for them, I'm very impressed with them," said Grace Raber. “They did great.”
