UT Student Government passed its student organization appropriations on Tuesday during its assembly meeting after two weeks of debate over the funding of politically-affiliated groups.
The appropriations, which were introduced during the Feb. 3 meeting, stalled for two weeks after $450 were allocated to UT’s chapter of Turning Point USA, an organization that, due to its political affiliation, spurred discourse among representatives. The final budget includes funding for UT’s chapter of TPUSA.
Representatives against the funding of the organization cited UT’s “institutional neutrality” policy, wherein the school cannot issue opinions on issues of the day. However, SG advisor Michael Shaw told representatives on Feb. 10 that denying funding to Turning Point would be withholding funds based on “ideology,” which would constitute prohibited “political speech.”
Shaw declined to comment further.
Transfer Representative Ryan Faidley introduced an amendment to remove funding for UT’s chapter of TPUSA on Feb. 10, which passed. However, after four hours of debate, SG tabled the bill due to the WCP building closing before the assembly was able to agree on passing the appropriations.
Faidley said he met with the Dean of Students before Tuesday’s meeting, who told him that the amendment he authored was not legal. In response, Faidley removed his amendment from the appropriations. Faidley’s removal and subsequent new motion, which passed unanimously, led to 67 organizations, including the UT chapter of Turning Point USA, receiving SG funding.
Faidley said the Dean of Students did not discuss the legality of his amendment until Tuesday, despite him introducing it a week earlier. The Office of the Dean of Students declined to comment publicly on any intervention it made on the appropriations.
“That was the frustrating part, because I and a lot of other representatives and members of the public have poured a lot of energy into advocating on this issue,” Faidley said.
During the Feb. 10 meeting, Executive Financial Director Luke Grismer and Financial Affairs Chair Jace Jones spoke to representatives and the student body, explaining their reasoning behind the amount of funding each organization was given. Grismer said each organization was graded on several criteria with a maximum of 25 points, determining the percentage of requested funds an organization received.
“The role of (the) finance committee is to decide how much organizations get,” Grismer said at the Feb. 10 meeting. “We do not decide on which organizations get money.”
According to documents obtained by the Texan, UT’s Turning Point USA chapter requested $655.61. Based on the finance committee’s grading scale, they received 19.83 points, which meant they should have been allocated 60% of the funds, or $393.37. However, they received $450, according to an SG document.
Jones did not respond to requests to comment further as to why.
During the Feb. 10 meeting, which more than 50 unaffiliated students attended, Chief Justice Isaiah Mosley said that the funding of Turning Point would set a poor precedent for UTSG. Mosley said there was a conflict of interest coming from students affiliated with both UTSG and Turning Point.
UT’s chapter of Turning Point USA released a statement following Tuesday’s meeting about the appropriations, thanking the Office of the Dean of Students for intervening to remove Faidley’s amendment.
Turning Point USA at UT declined to comment further.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to accurately reflect the number of weeks of debate. The Texan regrets this error.
