Undergraduate Student Government members at the Oct. 13 general council meeting approved three new clubs 17 requests for funding.
A representative for Brightside Ambassadors spoke to USG members about creating a student club branch of Brightside Produce, a charity that St. Thomas biology professor Adam Kay founded. The organization brings fresh fruits and vegetables to corner stores in North Minneapolis.
The representative said club goals include raising awareness about food deserts in Minneapolis and St. Paul and promoting healthy eating.
Three students pitched the creation of Ballroom Dance Club to USG too. The idea for the organization stemmed from the popular ballroom dance lessons that had been offered at German Club.
This new club will allow attendees to learn non-German dances, like the tango or the rumba, and students who do not know German will not be deterred from coming to lessons, the representatives said.
First-year student Dylan Barrett and sophomore Steven Widlowski, the leaders of the St. Thomas pep band, petitioned for their musical group, which plays at sports games, to become an officially-recognized club. Read more about Barrett and Widlowski’s journey here.
The USG general council approved the creation of all three clubs.
Two representatives for the Changemaker Club also petitioned the council for approval, but USG tabled the issue after a lengthy debate on the subject.
The desire for a Changemaker Club comes in tandem with the university’s push to achieve an Ashoka Changemaker designation and a recent ChangeX presentation on campus.
Some USG members worried that the club representatives lacked specificity in their explanation of the role of the club and that the club did not have an identified niche; they wondered how it would be different than, for example, Students for Justice and Peace. Other members disagreed and said the club had cleared previous hurdles in the approval process without any problem.
Chris Meader, vice president of financial affairs, presented 17 clubs’ and organizations’ requests for funding. All were approved.
Accounting Club received $1,230; Active Minds received $780, AdFed received $450; Asia Club received $367.
Badminton Club received $1,764; Black Empowerment Student Alliance received $6,750; Communion & Liberation (CLU) received $1,390; Catholic Students Incorportated received $441.
Dance Club received $2,352; the Hispanic Organization for Latino Awareness received $2,100; Rock Climbing Club received $5,100.
Special Olympics Club received $420; Women in Business received $3,465; Theology Club received $315.
Two clubs requested funds to host campus-wide events. Computer Science Club received $375 and Tri-Beta Biology Club received $160.
Meader also presented conference and competitions requests. Gamma Iota Sigma, an insurance fraternity, received $2,500 for a conference members attended in Ohio. Three members of CLU went to a conference in Washington, D.C. and were given $900 in funds.
Rugby Club received $750 to attend a competition in North Dakota, and Women’s Volleyball received $405 for competitions at St. Mary’s University, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Sophie Carson can be reached at sophia.carson@stthomas.edu.