The Mock Trial team, traditionally a well funded student organization, is resorting to alternative fundraising means this fall after receiving a smaller budget than it anticipated from the Council on Student Organizations.
Last Saturday, members of the nationally ranked team sold peanut butter and jelly sandwiches outside of the Rockefeller Center to raise money so they could attend national competitions throughout the year.
In past years, Mock Trial has asked for and received up to $10,000 from COSO, the group charged with recognizing undergraduate student clubs and allocating funds to them. This year, however, due to the increasing number of clubs on campus and other budgetary concerns, the team did not receive their expected budget.
"I very much want to express that we understand that COSO's decisions are extremely difficult, and we are grateful for all the funding they've given us in the past," Stacy Kourlis '06, Mock Trial's president, said. "However, we were disappointed by this year's budget."
The team placed in the top 10 at last year's national tournament, and its continued success caught the eyes of many incoming freshmen. A record number of new students tried out for the team this fall, but only a limited number of new members were selected due to budgetary concerns.
"Because of our budget, we couldn't offer spots to as many new members as we thought were qualified to join the team," Kourlis said.
COSO faces similar problems every year, as they are charged with spreading out their operating budget of $225,000 among the College's 120 recognized student organizations.
"It only works because some clubs ask for nothing. Other clubs, like the frequent publications, ask for up to $10,000," COSO member Adam Michaelson '06 said.
In past years, organizations have applied for funds on a yearly basis, which caused organizations applying for funds during Spring term to find that COSO had already exhausted its funds. This year, to prevent large budget shortfalls in the spring, COSO asked organizations to request budgets for this term only so that those requesting funds in the fall do not also have priority on funds in the spring.
"Last year and in prior years we allocated on first-come first-serve basis, and by spring we had to turn away really good programs because there wasn't enough money there," COSO member Diana Zhang '06said. Allocating money by term will hopefully result in more organized distribution throughout the year.
Despite the new policy, however, COSO granted Mock Trial a yearly budget this year because of the magnitude of their request, which has been a source of concern for Kourlis.
"I am concerned that we're going to have some trouble in the winter and spring when we have to fly to other parts of the country for competition at the national level," she said. "Nonetheless, we're committed to addressing these concerns."
The growing number of student-run organizations puts a growing stress on COSO and on the Undergraduate Finance Committee, the body that funds COSO.
"It seems like UFC funding could be better allocated for COSO organizations," Michaelson said.
Mock Trial is still set to attend a tournament at the University of Pennsylvania in mid-November, and will hopefully raise enough money over the course of the year to attend other national competitions.
"There haven't been any major complaints, but we always have to put the [funding] numbers in well before events, which isn't beneficial to the Dartmouth community, and this is something we regret," Michaelson said.
