The Student Services Finance Committee hosted a direct services demonstration night Thursday to give campus organizations the opportunity to display the services they provide to the student body.
To be eligible to receive funding, a group must demonstrate its ability to perform “direct services,” which is defined as an educational service that is available and tailorable to any UW-Madison student’s needs, according to SSFC Chair Ellie Breucker.
“These are things that segregated fees pay for, so students can use them anytime they want to,” Breucker said.
SSFC is the branch of student government that decides on the allocation of more than $32 million in student segregated fees from the General Student Services Fund to registered student organizations.
Breucker said she came up with the idea for a demonstration night last spring after observing last year’s climate had become “a little scary for groups.”
“I just wanted to offer them some time that was unstructured by us, that they could do whatever they wanted with,” said Breucker. “So that when they come back for eligibility or for budget hearings, there’s some friendly faces behind the table.”
Approximately seven groups gave short presentations or demonstrations of their services, including the Student Leadership Program, which presented its “True Colors” activity that split participants into groups according to personality traits.
SLP Internal Affairs and Development Coordinator Kevin Prickett said he represented his group because he wanted SSFC to see exactly what SLP does for students.
“I’ve had such a passion for SLP because, even in myself, I’ve seen the impact it makes on shaping people into leaders and being leaders on this campus,” Prickett said. “So with eligibility coming up next week, it’s great to interact with SSFC members and let us show them what we do just so it’s not a boring presentation.”
Overall, Breucker said she thought the night was successful and a valuable experience for her committee.
“It seemed like everybody had fun and I think it was kind of good teambuilding for the committee too,” Bruecker said. “It was cool for us to participate together and I think they learned a lot about the groups.”
