The Associated Student Government voted at its latest meeting to approve the first club grant of the year to the Transfer Scholars Club.
The $800 grant was approved with a 3-1 vote on March 19, where the club’s president Zarina Dhillon gave a presentation explaining their need for funds.
“We’re not getting that many people to show up,” Dhillon said. “We want to be able to have some incentive for them to come.”
Dhillon and her club advisers have been recycling to raise funding. She came to the ASG looking for the board to match the funding up to $800, which is the maximum amount a club can request per year.
The funds are for educational purposes, Dhillon said, and could be available to students as scholarships, book grants or other forms of financial assistance that may not be covered by financial aid. Ultimately, the grant money can serve to provide exposure for the club, which helps prospective transfer students get information from universities across the country.
“We also primarily want to increase exposure to a variety of university representatives,” she said. “[This] is one of the main club activities that we currently conduct.”
Every two weeks the Transfer Scholars Club hosts a representative from a different university to talk about their school’s transfer admissions process. According to Dhillon, this contributes to more successful transfers by City College students to four-year institutions.
“We mostly just want to be able to advertise better,” she said, “and just have more financial assistance that students can have.”
The awarding of the first club grant comes as ASG is discussing a survey to gain insight into the struggles of current students.
Virtual restrictions have also created an environment that restricts clubs to an online presence, and fewer clubs have been able to host in-person activities that grants can help cover. In the 2018-19 year, ASG awarded 29 club grants, with 18 granted in the 2019-20 school year.
As far as a timeline goes, Dhillon said the $800 most likely wouldn’t be fully disbursed this semester. It would roll over into next year, and be used by the club then.
Attendance is the focus for the specific events the Transfer Scholars Clubs plans. The talks with university transfer representatives bring in the most people, according to Dhillon.
“I feel like it’s very helpful for everyone,” she said. “We just want to continue that.”
This semester the ASG has only approved one club charter, and does not have the usual student representation funding.
Without it, the ASG doesn’t have the money it usually does for club grants, though Vice President of Operations and Finance Maggie Tang said she could make the grant work with the current budget, and could approve an allocation.
The student senate is set to meet again on Friday, April 2.
