Board denies FeelGood’s allocations request

Pitt’s FeelGood chapter did not receive its requested funding for a conference at Tuesday’s… Pitt’s FeelGood chapter did not receive its requested funding for a conference at Tuesday’s Student Government Board meeting, two weeks after the group withdrew its original request.

Senior Alyssa Weisensee and junior Aidan Smith requested $1,130.96 to send four students to the Hunger Summit, which will be held in New York City from Oct. 21 to Oct. 23. Four SGB members voted to deny FeelGood’s request in full, in line with the Allocation Committee’s recommendation

Board members Alex Zimmerman and John Hasley voted to approve the request, while Ryan Gayman and James Landreneau abstained from the vote.

When reading the Committee’s recommendation in Nordy’s Place, Allocations chairman Michael Bane said that the recommendation to deny in full was made on the grounds that the group would not bring back any relevant programming from the conference.

Caitlin Walker, an alumni of both Pitt and FeelGood, and nursing graduate student Tricia Selin joined the two Pitt FeelGood representatives to push for the Board to reconsider their allocations request. A granted request would allow students to attend the Summit with 20 FeelGood chapters from universities nationwide and representatives from 15 countries.

At the Sept. 20 Student Government Board meeting, FeelGood requested $3,432 for nine members to attend the New York City Conference. The Allocations Committee recommended that the Board deny the request in full on the same grounds as Tuesday’s meeting. The Board voted to reject Allocation’s reccomendation and after discussion FeelGood withdrew their request.

The national FeelGood organization’s mission is to end world hunger, and every Thursday Pitt’s chapter sells grilled cheese at Nordy’s Place. Weisensee said that the past four weeks has brought in more donations than ever before, earning the club $2,353.08.

Walker, a 2010 Pitt graduate who attended a previous Summit, vouched for its importance.

“It’s the reason why I’m still in Nordy’s,” she said, as she still attends the Thursday events.

Selin spoke to the Board about the efforts already taken to raise funds for the conference. She said the original cost of $450 to send one student to the Summit, which includes lodging, the conference ticket and food, has been brought down to $150.

Weisensee said that the students that the club plans to send will help the entire club by taking notes on the information presented by speakers and other universities and sharing it upon their return.

Smith also noted to the Board that next year will mark a transition period for the club, as many of the leaders are graduating soon and the underclassmen will have to step up.

“[It will] get the next generation of people energized about it,” he said. “You need to go and see and hear and listen to all of these people.”

Despite the conversation between the Board and the four FeelGood representatives, half of the Board was left unswayed — enough to turn down the request.

“You guys are almost better than this conference, in my opinion,” Board member Matthew Riehe said, adding that he believes FeelGood does a “great job” already.

Weisensee said FeelGood will still send nine students to the Summit, but while the club will still contribute toward the cost of the trip, a majority of the money must come directly from those students’ wallets.

Board members Gayman, Landreneau and Hasley met with the group after the meeting to encourage them to remain in contact with SGB.

“I hope this does not leave a sour taste in your mouth,” Landreneau said.

Aside from allocations, the Board discussed the upcoming Pitt Make A Difference Day and elections in their weekly reports.

Gayman announced that all 4,000 slots have been filled for the Oct. 22 event.

For students looking to apply to run for a Board member position or for President of Pitt’s Student Government Board, application packets are available outside of the SGB office on the eighth floor of the William Pitt Union. Completed packets are due Oct. 17.

Other announcements included the 5 p.m. Oct. 27 deadline for student groups’ fall budgets. Bane said that budget hearings will be held Nov. 3 and the allocations meeting will be canceled for that day.

Bane suggested that student groups applying for allocations for mid-November should get their requests in soon, because of the canceled meeting.

Allocations

The Roller Hockey Club requested $565.38 to attend a preseason tournament that will qualify them for regionals and nationals. SGB approved $519.38 and denied $45.90 in taxes.

The Board approved Active Minds at the University of Pittsburgh’s request for $716.38 in full to attend a national conference.

Pitt’s Quidditch Club requested $1,664.78 to attend a tournament in Indianapolis. The Board approved the request in full.

The Board approved the Parliamentary Debate Team’s request for $526.12 in full to attend a regular-season tournament at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Board approved $689.20 to send four delegates from the Engineers for a Sustainable World to a conference.

Pitt’s American Society of Civil Engineers requested $2,784 to attend a national conference. The Board approved $2,784 and denied $870 for an additional hotel room and two conference fees in line with the $2,000 conference request cap.