The recent decision made by the Schaefer School of Engineering & Science (SES) to cut conference travel funds has raised many concerns among student leaders, organizations, and students in general. This now leaves the future of conferences up in the air, along with the impact it will ultimately have on student organizations here at Stevens.
The funding program was established in collaboration between SES, the Student Government Association (SGA), and the Dean of Undergraduate Student Affairs Council (DUSAC). In an interview with SITTV, 4/4 Industrial and Systems Engineer and SGA President Jeylan Jubran explained that student organizations have historically attended conferences, but were faced with the issue of costs. “Student professional organizations have always been going to conferences, typically doing it out of pocket,” Jubran said. “This year instead of informing anyone, they just cut it fully and we didn’t find out until one club tried to request money and got denied.”
SGA was unaware of the funding cut, and SGA and The Office of Student Life do not have the resources to continue funding conferences alone. To account for this new change, clubs would eventually experience a 3% cut, until a total 60% cut is reached in the next 10 years. The funding cut also ultimately affects all student clubs and organizations, as they may not be able to receive full funding to operate and get supplies for meetings and events.
Christopher Thelisme (2/4 Civil Engineering major), SGA Assistant VP of Communications, emphasized the importance of conferences and how much they truly impact students. “The idea is that we are pushing the administration to restore this funding back, not only because we just simply can’t fund it, but because of how important conferences are to the student body,” Thelisme shared. “Going to a conference as a student, as part of a student org, especially, it can grant a student so much professional development. It can give students networking opportunities, but it can also give our university a better look to different companies and organizations that are at that conference.”
As discussions about the funding cut continued, the student body was called upon to vote for a demand of administration to restore conference funding. Voting was open from October 13 to the 27, and the vote from the students unfortunately did not pass. A separate letter, on behalf of SGA and select professional organizations was sent to administration to express their concerns.
“Regardless, the letter was sent to administration this morning indicating the SGA’s position along with SWE, NSBE, SASE, and SHPE’s” Jubran commented to The Stute.
While the outcome of the student vote did not result in restoring conference funding, student leaders and organizations remain committed to advocating for the issue. This does, however, leave many students wondering how the loss of this funding will affect their personal and career development, and overall success as a student here at Stevens.
