Fall 2012 SLS Budget

Web Editor

Dear fellow students,

Each year the SLS’s Social Affairs branch allocates your annual student fees towards a variety of student activities.  In 2010, the SLS passed a by-law that requires the Social Affairs branch to publish an annual budget (see attached figure).  There are two reasons for this: (i) to increase the transparency in the SLS’ decision making, and (ii) improve our accountability to the J.D. student community.   The following three items make up the majority of the SLS’s funds:

[1] Clubs Funding Fall 2012

This year, 35 clubs applied for SLS funding. The total amount of funding that was requested was $18,747.24.  The total amount of funding that was granted was $15,562.31. This is a $1,657 increase over the amount of funding granted in the Fall semester of 2011.

The club funding process has several stages.  First, clubs submitted applications that detailed their expenses and revenues for the coming year.   Once the applications were collected, the Vice President of Social Affairs consolidated the individual applications into one large spreadsheet. The final consolidated spreadsheet was presented to the Social Affairs representatives who, over the course of several budget meetings, considered each line item and voted on the approval or denial of funds.

During those budget meetings, the SLS applied its policies (as detailed below) to “standard” requests.  If a request fell outside the scope of standard SLS policy, your Social Affairs representatives discussed and ultimately voted on them.  For unique line items, Social Affairs considered factors such as: (1) the necessity of the requested item to the club’s mandate; (2) the number of students that would benefit from the expense; and (3) any possible more cost-effective alternatives.

The SLS’s basic funding policies for Fall 2012 were as follows:

  • A maximum of $200 was allocated per lunch/meal, with an annual maximum of $400 for lunch/meal events per club.  Generally, lunch/meals were not provided for purely student-run events (events without outside speakers).
  • A maximum of $100 was allocated per non-meal catered event, with an annual maximum of $200 for non-meal catered events per club.
  • A maximum of $20 was provided per speaker gift up to 10 speaker gifts.  Any additional speaker gifts were capped at $15 per speaker.  The SLS does not subsidize gifts that are alcoholic in nature.
  • A maximum of $5 per movie rental, and $20 for movie snacks, was provided.
  • Clubs were entitled to up to $10 for their Clubs Fair tabling costs.
  • Up to $5 per event was provided for printing costs.
  • The SLS does not provide funding for: food at internal meetings, paid student positions, year-end parties, student travel costs, or professional coaches/paid speakers.

[2] Law Ball 2013

This fall, members of Social Affairs voted to increase the baseline allocation of funds to Law Ball from $4,000 to $5,000.  There were two reasons for this increase. First, $5,000 represents the lower end of average deposits for venues that can accommodate our numbers. Second, funding has not increased since this event transitioned from a 3L event to an inclusive event.

[3] SLS Fellowship

Our constitution requires that Social Affairs set aside $30 per student for the SLS’s public interest fellowship.  This amounts to $19,380.  This year, we are offering three fellowships valued at $6,470.  These fellowships are open to 1L and 2L students who secure positions at public interest organizations in Canada.  The application timeline parallels the 1L public interest recruitment timelines.

Attached: SLS 2012 Fall Semester Budget

 

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