The Huskies Baking Club met with the USG to appeal a denial of funds from the Ways and Means committee (WAM). Initially, WAM denied the request because funding for food goes against the USG bylaws. However, there is an exception that states RSOs can be funded for food if it is deemed “cultural.” After appealing at the Sep. 17 USG meeting, they were allocated $500 (as opposed to the original $1500 they requested) to purchase ingredients in addition to $1,000 for non-ingredient purposes. This was due to the Huskies Baking Club being deemed cultural.
RSOs are funded through about 25% of the Student Activity Fee. The WAM committee is a USG body that controls how the Student Activity Fee gets distributed to RSOs.
This bylaw was adopted several years ago, after RSOs spent a significant amount of their student activity fee allocations on items like pizza and soda for their members. The bylaw’s purpose is for RSOs to put their money toward “educational, community-based experiences,” says USG Vice President Conner Skalitzky. In this case, baking is a “skill, art, and experience,” so funding it is a “good idea,” Skalitzky expressed.
It is important to note that USG does not have the grounds to define what culture is and is not; as a result, the bylaw has loopholes. The Baking Club’s appeal was the catalyst for USG to refine the bylaw, perhaps by tying food to specific cultural events. USG intends to make these changes to the bylaws to remove any ambiguity.
