Student groups may lose funding

CU Student Government (CSUG) is proposing two bills that may jeopardize the future of various student groups on campus.

The first bill requires the Interactive Theatre Program (ITP) to raise over $200,000 by July, or else, all funds stemming from student fees will be lost.

“We’re not attacking ITP. We won’t be cutting the program, we’re reducing its budget 46 percent, and it’s good to make sure that we’re making sure all programs on CU are sustainable,” said Gregory Carlson, the Treasurer of CU Student Government, (CSUG).

Members of ITP are finding it difficult to call these new bills fair and hope CSUG will focus on staying true to the original legislation.

Jason Bisping, assistant director of ITP, said, “All we’re asking is for them to honor the original bill with its original intent as a strategic plan, give us our five years. We won’t need student fees after that.”

Not only will student groups lose funding from student fees, but the second bill will also remove funding for nonstudent staff affiliated with the groups. If the bill passes, several jobs, such as the campus organizer for Colorado Student Public Interest Research Group Student Chapters (COPRIG), will be lost.

“She teaches us to do so many things like how to hold a press conference, to doing letters, to the editor to holding a really awesome event for the campaign we’re working on. She’s a really great resource and we don’t want to lose her this year,” said Helen Katich, chapter chair of COPRIG.

These new bills will also jeopardize professional and student job positions within the student organizations. The assistant dean of students is concerned that the student government does not realize the impact of how many jobs would be lost.

Gardiner Tucker, assistant dean of students, said, “For ITP, it’s a loss of fourteen student jobs and one professional members job. What’s interesting is CUSG hasn’t even addressed that this will have a huge impact on people’s lives. They’d at least express compassion for it, and they haven’t done that which surprises me because you’d think they’d be more caring.”

CSUG is hopeful that the two bills will create more opportunities elsewhere, even though jobs may be lost.

“You have to remember that with the 100,000 that we’re not going to collect in student fees, that’s 100,000 more dollars each year in the pockets of students who will be able to spend that money on an extra shirt or an extra backpack, or an extra pizza and that money will create more jobs. It’s kind of like lowering taxes if you give the money back to the people,” said Gregory Carlson, treasurer of CSUG.

The future of various student groups on campus will be placed on hold until the reading of the bills, which will take place Thursday night at 7p.m., in the Glen Miller ballroom located in the UMC.