There are over 150 active student clubs at St. Lawrence University competing to get funding through various means. Clubs receive funding by applying for a budget or requesting money from the SLU Student Activities Fund, which is managed by the Thelomathesian Society. However, thelmo had not been told the amount in the contingency fund by the University until Wednesday, Oct. 25.
“I don’t want to say I’m frustrated with the school, but they have had so many weeks to give us a contingency,” said Thelmo President Dean Brooker ’25. “We nearly get double the amount requested as what we have that we can allocate,” said Brooker. “A club will ask for $7,000, and we can only give them $3,500,” he said, citing the importance of the SLUSAF fund. As a result, when allocating club budgets and contingency requests, It’s very crucial to know the exact amount of money available, according to Brooker.
Senior Associate Director of Campus Activities & Residential Ashlee Downing-Duke said the delay in giving a specific number for the SLUSAF funds is due to complications in administrative processes. “The way that we send the information to the business office changed,” said Downing-Duke, “It’s like changing it from English to Spanish.” Citing students being very critical, Downing-Duke said, “We had a rough idea but didn’t want to tell the students until we had an exact number.”
The Laurentian magazine is a student-run magazine that publishes art and literary work. “The magazine gives students a place to showcase their creativity,” said Sarah Barber, an associate professor in the English Department and faculty advisor for the Laurentian magazine. “We want to see students produce it; they are the ones who know how to make it beautiful,” said Barber. Thelmo funding is essential to this. “The English Department would have a much bigger influence on it (the magazine),” said Barber, referencing the Laurentian magazine being funded by the department.
When producing the Laurentian magazine last semester, “the budget was a little bit less than the Laurentian printing needs,” according to Barber. The collaboration of clubs to fund projects and events could be a way to alleviate some of the pressure clubs are feeling, Barber suggested. “Noticeably, Spectrum really stepped in to help us and granted us some funds,” Barber said.
However, Madyson McCarthy ’25, a member of Habitat for Humanity, said, “I feel like a lot of clubs are not willing to give money since their club budgets are limited, too,” when talking about funding Habitat for Humanity Trips. “We are trying to apply for a winter break trip, but if we do that, then we would have to ask for contingency funds for the spring break trip,” said McCarthy. The struggle to fund these trips comes as funding for large events was taken out of club budgets.
“We stopped putting those one-time big events into club budgets,” said Downing-Duke, because it gives the student body more say in what events are funded. “The way it has been written gives student government full control over the fund,” something that is unique to SLU, said Downing-Duke. “We need that pot of money for new clubs that start.”
According to Brooker, the SLUSAF contingency fund is essential for starting news clubs and keeping others active. “Tabletop games came to us and got a contingency even though they haven’t been going for a while,” said Brooker. “It is the best way to restart a club; a lot of clubs wait for the budget cycle, and this can make clubs die out.”