By: Maxwell Bruns ~Staff Writer~

Student Activities Council (SAC), in a co-sponsorship with the Student Government Association (SGA) executives, requested $20,000 in funding in a Sept. 29 SGA Senate meeting. The funding is intended for the headlining musical act of this year’s XavierFest, an annual outdoor campus event featuring food, drinks and music. The headliner has not been announced.

If approved, the money would come from the rollover fund, which is the money left unused by last year’s SGA executives and collapsed funds left unused by clubs. These funds come from the Student Activity Fee but are not immediately available for the SGA executives to allocate

“The amount is subject to change. A vote has still not been taken on the issue. We generated a lot of good discussion today and the senate brought up a lot of good points,” Zeina Farhat, SAC chair of the university spirit committee and Senate member, said in an email.

“Fare (Olagbaju), Zeina, Christine Kelly, Leo Biett and I had a meeting to draft the collaborative agreement on the 25th of September. I had my reservations about the draft proposal. I’m one voice among 23, which is why the meeting with the entire population of SGA is important. I need all 20 of my senators to collaborate in making this decision with me,” SGA president Andrew Redd said.

SAC spent $52,000 last year on the entire XavierFest event, Redd said. The cost was covered in large part of funds donated by co-sponsors. The proposal this year would constitute a cost increase.

“We’ve been asking for co-sponsors to donate for a long time, going on five years. SAC’s motto this year is ‘Bigger and Better,’ so the increase in fund donation size is just part of SAC’s efforts to create a better experience for the students,” Farhat said. “XavierFest is the campus’ most widely attended event. Last year, we had 2,400 students and we’re hoping for more this year. Each year, the fund size reflects SAC’s goal to create a bigger and better experience.”

Since the discontinuation of the annual SAC concert in 2013- 14, XavierFest has been the only large-scale, on-campus concert available to students.

“It’s a hard balance between supporting a great organization and a great event and being fair to every organization and club that wants money,” Senate member Abby Schafer said.

“Both organizations have a lot of opportunity to collaborate on something like XavierFest. Either way, the student body wins. XavierFest is the largest campus and student event at Xavier and over the last five years has quickly become one of our most anticipated traditions,” Dustin Lewis, Associate Director of Student Involvement, said in an email.

The official vote on the proposal will happen at the Oct. 5 Senate meeting. All students are welcome to attend Senate meetings.