On Wednesday, the Student Finance Board (SFB) passed two motions, both 11-0-2, to fully fund Uni?n Latina's $425 and $3,000 requests to invite speaker Bobby Gonzalez to the College, as well as poets from "Beat of the Nuyorican Poet," respectively.
As part of April's Latino Awareness Month, Gonzalez will discuss colonialism in his lecture "The Untold Story of the Americas." "Beat of the Nuyorican Poet" will showcase three poets, one Latino, one black and one Caucasian, performing an urban style of multicultural poetry.
"It just sounds like it's all going to go well," Kobi Wilmot, management director, said.
Uni?n Latina also requested $17,600 in funding to host a concert on the Loser Hall Lawn called the "Reggaeton Block Party," featuring DJ's from 97.9 FM and New York's WKTU FM, as well as artists such as Aponte and Ben G.
Julia Pratt, executive director, felt that the request had too many details for the board to make a motion at present time. It would require the performers to bring their own lighting and stage, and require the school to issue police security and a public noise notice to the community to make it aware of the concert.
The board agreed to table the motion until the following week, pending a meeting with SFB's advisor, Tim Asher.
Ink also requested funding to host its creative event "The Goods" on April 8. The event will showcase student work, as well as Joey Cameau, author and comic artist.
Some board members thought that the English department, which will be contributing some funding, should pay for the event because it exhibits student work. However, most members agreed that the cost would be for the performer, something the English department would not be asked to fund.
A motion was unanimously passed 14-0 to fund the $1,068.85 request.
The Protestant Bible Fellowship (PBF), along with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the physics department and the Student Government Association (SGA), also requested funding to host an Intelligent Design Symposium.
Having already publicized and received money from several outside contributors, board members were not convinced that it was student-organized.
"It looks like it's not run by the students," Pratt said, citing an advertisement in The Signal for the event, which indicated that the TCNJ Committee for Cultural and Intellectual Community would be presenting the symposium.
Another concern the board had with the request was that the secretary for PBF, S. Lee Whitesell, indicated to board members during his request presentation that as a friend of many faculty members, William Dembski, the lecturer on intelligent design, would be coming whether or not SFB funded the request.
This statement was enough to make board members feel reluctant to fund the event, ultimately leading them to pass a motion 10-2-1 to provide no funding.
The Asian American Association (AAA) also requested additional funding to supplement previous funding from SFB for Kendall Hall staffing for its annual "Mystique of the East" event.
Although the organization had already received $1,000.70 from SFB, the price quote for the staffing from Conference and Meetings Services (CMS) was underestimated, causing AAA to need an additional $535.75.
The board unanimously funded the request 13-0.
