All student organizations who attend the mandatory student organization meeting on Sept. 8, 2008 will receive a starting budget of $250 from the Office of Student Affairs. This "seed money" is enough to hold an introductory meeting and a small speaker event at the beginning of the school year before the special fund requests are decided. Student organizations who do not attend the mandatory student organization meeting will not be funded by the Law School this academic year.
The Office of Student Affairs recognizes that most ideas for events come up during the school year, and most organizations cannot afford to organize guest speaker events with the seed money allocated at the beginning of the school year. With that in mind, the OSA has a program in which funds are set aside for special student organization activities that require additional funding. This program is called the "Special Fund."
The Special Fund Committee is made up of the Office of Student Affairs staff (Cathy and Chidel) and the Executive Board of Law Association. Student organizations seeking funding from the Special Fund must complete and submit the Special Fund Application to Chidel at least three weeks before the event.
Student groups planning conferences must complete and submit the Conference Funding Application a semester before the conference is to be held. The Law School requires student organizations to have a faculty advisor and to consult with Chidel Onuegbu on the budget portion of the proposal before submitting it.
The Law School currently has approximately 50 active student organizations that come under the jurisdiction of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). OSA provides funding and actsas the primary resource for the student organizations. In exchange, the organizations agree to bebound by the policies governing the conduct of student organizations, which are set forth in the Handbook.