BROOKLYN COLLEGE–Undergraduate Student Government (USG) President Cyle Paul sent an email to club leaders regarding public safety event costs that could hinder USG’s ability to fund club events. Namely, the requirement for a public safety officer to be present at events labeled as “parties”.
The Brooklyn College (BC) student body was made aware of the requirement on Oct. 6 by email and an accompanying Instagram post, which stated, “[…] these additional costs place a significant burden on Undergraduate Student Government and limit our ability to fully support your events.”
Kelsey Ganthier, President of the BC Black Student Union (BSU), expressed frustrations with USG no longer covering the public safety cost initially approved for a Halloween party planned in collaboration with the Caribbean Student Union (CSU).
“At first, we were told that public safety costs would be covered. Everything was approved. Then out of nowhere, we received an email saying that USG would no longer fund those costs,” Ganthier said. “What doesn’t make sense is that they claimed this was something they’d been planning since the summer. If that’s true, how was our event already approved under the previous rules? And why are we being told after we’ve already moved forward with planning?”
While the original announcement did affirm that USG has “been meeting with administration since the summer to push for relief on [the] issue,” the statement ended encouraging clubs “to plan strategically and consider fundraising efforts to help offset […] inflated costs.”
