Butler students have questioned the university’s support of smaller clubs after communication issues regarding funds. Graphic by Giuliana Rios.

ELLA HALL | STAFF REPORTER | erhall@butler.edu

The student-run Bookish Bulldogs club is looking for answers after their approved $500 grant from Student Government Association (SGA) never appeared in their account last semester, sending them into a major financial deficit. 

Bookish Bulldogs is a student-run book club on campus that meets periodically to read and discuss novels.

The club’s funding issue has highlighted some concerns with the complications of the SGA grant process and how well Butler supports smaller clubs on campus. 

In the previous four years that the club has been operational, Bookish Bulldogs has had no problem obtaining adequate funding for their activities. Each semester, they have utilized a $500 grant to supply books and bookmarks for participants, making the club free of cost for those who wish to join.

However, this year took a turn when Bookish Bulldogs reached out to Marcia Ewbank, the point of communication between the club and SGA, and was informed that their account had a $400 deficit, rendering them ineligible for another grant. In a meeting with Ewbank to examine the account, student leaders within the club found that the grant that had been approved for them was never recorded.

Brenna Bailey, a junior on the PharmD and MBA dual degree pathway and SGA’s Speaker of the senate, explained that grants are given on a first-come, first-serve basis with priority given to clubs with financial need rather than those who have money in their student accounts.

Bailey expressed her own frustrations with the complicated grant process and a desire to resolve the issue for Bookish Bulldogs, something she is actively working on through communication with Ewbank, whom she claimed is the point of contact for administering funds to student organizations.

“Unfortunately, with changes in money systems, the transition to Oracle [and] the transition in leadership that happens in SGA every year, it looks like the grant just didn’t get sent to who it needs to be sent to,” Bailey said. “We never want to hear that [funds are missing, but] unfortunately, we only have so much control.” 

Aidan Johnson, a senior French and math double major and treasurer of Bookish Bulldogs, claimed that after his meeting with Ewbank, she had conversed with SGA over email, though Johnson and the other students in the club never got to read them. Johnson said Ewbank later informed him that SGA had replied, saying that they did allocate the funds to the club, and that Bookish Bulldogs would not receive any further funding.

Johnson expressed a desire for more transparency in this communication process.                            

“With the emails, I didn’t ever see SGA’s response to her,” Johnson said. “[It] would have been nice to see what they actually said, or maybe also have access to our own account. That way, we don’t have to have a middle person who is the only person that can see it.”

Cara Oser, a senior math major and Bookish Bulldogs’ president, indicated similar frustrations with the situation and a determination to be heard.

“Smaller clubs like us do just get put under the rug sometimes, and I understand that Butler has to prioritize the clubs that are doing [things like] community work, and we’re definitely a social club,” Oser said. “That being said, I don’t think that we’re being given a fair shot and treated with the same respect.”

For first-year chemistry major Royland Nguyen, the financial obstacles of student clubs have not dissuaded him from pursuing his passion. In his first semester at Butler, he has already founded a ceramics club.   

Nguyen has taken a slightly different approach to funding his organization, as he claimed he was encouraged by the Student Activity Office to fundraise on his own before reaching out to SGA.

Though Nguyen is committed to achieving his goals, he too recognizes the struggle that small clubs face.

“These smaller clubs don’t really get much attention, so getting some support from Butler would allow the club to thrive and keep it going,” Nguyen said. “But also, it allows students to find what they love besides learning and academics.”

Bailey does not want the current situation to discourage other students like Nguyen from creating and participating in new clubs. She urges students to communicate with SGA and to continue to ask for funding.

“We are really, really working to make sure that everyone gets what funding they want and the funding that they feel like they need in order to be a successful club,” Bailey said. “Clubs are kind of shifting on campus, and there’s always new ideas and new leadership.”