Student Council heard an appropriations appeal from the Virginia Women’s Chorus last night to provide additional funding for the group’s upcoming trip to the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., but voted to uphold the Appropriation Committee’s decision to decline the request.
Chorus members Kelly McVicar, a third-year College student and Gabby Garcia, a student in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, said the money requested would have funded additional hotel expenses.
“We were granted $162 per room and we’re asking for the remainder of $200 per room,” McVicar said, adding that the organization is completely student funded. “Because it is at the National Cathedral, we cannot make any money from this event [through ticket sales]. We’re just representing the University.”
Council Appropriations Committee Co-Chair Brendan Whittington said the amount of money allocated to the Women’s Chorus is consistent with the procedure outlined in the Treasurer’s Manual. He said Council grants every contracted independent organization $100 for a four-person room in a hotel.
“The way we fund rooms is pretty straight forward,” Whittington said, noting that Council even previously granted the group an extra $62 per room to account for the fact that the two-bedroom suites booked by the Chorus are more expensive than ordinary hotel accommodations.
Whittington said another reason the Appropriations Committee declined the Chorus’ request for additional funds was because the group’s original budget requested funds for hotel accommodations for 40 individuals. The group is now seeking to fund hotel accommodations for 42 women.
“Groups have to submit their budgets on time and on their honor,” Whittington said.
Whittington added that funds granted to groups to pay for hotel rooms already have doubled since last year.
“In the past, it was $50 per room, but they hiked it up to $100 per room this year,” he said. “It’s a rate that’s reasonable and still sustainable for all groups.”
Furthermore, Whittington noted that in light of the current budget issues facing the Appropriations Committee, granting the group additional funds would simply be inconsistent with the committee’s practices.
“With the mounting budget cuts, we have to stay within the [proper] framework,” Whittington said.
Additionally, Kayla Wherry, Council vice president of organizations, noted that the Virginia Women’s Chorus is in the same position as many other organizations on Grounds.
“At this time $100 is the only reasonable amount of money we can give given the number [of] groups,” she said, adding that if the Council had offered more money to the Chorus, many other groups on Grounds may have come to request additional funds for hotel accommodations.
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