SGA Denied Funding For Trinity Greek Council

Trinity Greek members at Greek U 2016

Photo by Jeremy Allen

By Taylor Moser

At Monday's SGA meeting the student governing body rejected the budget proposal of Trinity University's Greek Council, marking the first time in Trinity history of such happening.

Greek Council’s treasurer, Claire Poland, gave a seven-minute presentation of their 2017-2018 budget proposal, followed by approximately seven minutes of questioning from SGA senators.

But the senators decided not to give any funds to the Greek Council. Rather than receiving a budget for the year, the Greek Council will now have to apply for funding on a case by case basis. This decision could potentially change Greek life on campus.

The Greek community represents approximately 25% of the student body at Trinity. The Greek Council is the group of elected leaders that provides oversight for all of the Greek organizations and organizes events for all the Trinity community. These events include Greek U, Alumni Tailgate, various speakers, and Greek Unity Nights.

Tory Tolar, a junior history major on the Greek Council, said the decision impacts the future of Greek Council because “without the budget there ceases to be oversight to all of Greek life. Without oversight fraternities and sororities can do whatever they like, which can become chaotic.”

Furthermore, without a budget, "we can no longer have leadership conferences or connections with our alumni through events such as the Alumni Tailgate and Alumni Leadership n’ Lunch," said Tolar.

There are still many unanswered questions regarding the future of Trinity's geek life. Addison Keller, a sophomore political science major, said she is concerned about the implications of this decision.

She has participated in many of the events sponsored by Greek Council and has been positively impacted by the Greek community. However, she, and the rest of the Greek community, are doing everything in their power to change SGA’s opinion.

Students can email their student senators explaining the impact that Greek life events have had on their experience at Trinity.

On Monday, April 24, SGA will hold their weekly meeting where Greek Council will partition for a revote. Greek Council is asking students who feel passionate about the greek life to attend the meeting.