Maybe it’s because I used to major in computer engineering and then covered the College of Engineering as a reporter. Maybe it’s because my mom minored in physics before there was any program like Women in Science and Engineering. But when I read the Government of the Student Body Finance Committee was going to recommend zero-funding WiSE and PrISUm, the ISU solar car team, I was stunned. I could not understand why such suggestions could be made. (Cuffs is not in this boat. Everyone’s favorite BDSM club, as of Tuesday, was on track to get $116.)

WiSE has only received funding once before, four years ago. However, WiSE president Jamie Harrison, senior in chemical engineering, said the process was “so taxing” and the committee so unhelpful, the process was not something they wished to go through again.

This year, they applied for GSB funding, expecting to get it after moving toward near-total financial independence from the Program for Women in Science and Engineering.

Their encounter with the committee was no better than the previous one. Harrison said a motion was made to zero-fund the group at the beginning of the meeting, even before any questions were asked. Harrison couldn’t understand or believe the abruptness; from that moment “we were on the defensive.”

The solar car team had continually received funding since 1996, although it had been reduced last year. Project director Justin Steinlage, senior in electrical engineering, said the first thing the committee did this time was motion to zero-fund, “a complete shock.” When half the room seconded it, “I didn’t feel we stood a chance.”

In WiSE’s case, the women explained their activities, but it seemed the committee was dead-set on zero-funding them. Harrison said one person suggested the group ask the Engineering Student Council because “they’re rich.”

“Does that mean engineering students should give funds to GSB?” Harrison asked me. “Should we just give our money to the Engineering Student Council?”

They only wanted about $400. The committee said some things in the budget would never be funded anyway, Harrison said, but why not find a way to help with the rest?

Compared to WiSE, PrISUm’s problems were thirty times worse. They wanted $9,000 to $15,000, but to be told they’d get nothing — “I wouldn’t have imagined being zero-funded,” Steinlage said. They had no contingency plan for such an action, and they wouldn’t get a chance to prepare a defense.

Neither group knew it was going to be zero-funded; neither had any chance to speak up before the final senate vote. The great and powerful finance committee had spoken.

It is true GSB is suffering a deep deficit. But the way some of these organizations have been written off seems like the committee is justifying its decisions on thin strands of evidence.

GSB Finance Director David Boike said WiSE was a group “on the borderline.” The inclusion of “engineering” in the title raised a red flag. As to its previous funding, Boike said it might be a case of not being caught, or the different committees at different times used different standards.

Ironically, however, this time around WiSE is more independent from the university program than it was four years ago. Harrison wondered if the financial situation played a role in the process. “Why should a lean year determine how they interpret the bylaws?” she asked.

If the WiSE rationale is confusing, PrISUm’s is mind-boggling. The club welcomes all students, no matter what major. Nothing in either the group rules or bylaws had changed, yet after eight years, it is suddenly a pre-professional group! What, is there professional solar car racing?

Steinlage said the solar car team only gets funds from the College of Engineering, not any specific department. According to the March 5 Daily article “Recommendation would hurt PrISUm,” Boike said any groups funded by a council or department or connected to a department is pre-professional. To the committee, apparently the college and departments are one and the same. At least they are when the committee’s being strict about it — even if the group itself is open to everyone.

For an ISU organization that has been a part of the university in some form since 1990, has been like an ambassador during solar car races and has received widespread recognition, the fact that its own student body won’t help is almost beyond belief.

WiSE is not only women in different engineering disciplines, it’s also sciences, making it a cross-college program. WiSE offers guidance and support to freshmen and also encourages elementary school girls to have an interest in areas traditionally under-represented by women.

Since the recommendation, WiSE has withdrawn its request. It will approach companies for support and perhaps have some fund-raisers. The brush-off by the committee “definitely gave the organization a new outlook,” Harrison said.

For PrISUm, the cut is bad, but not the end. Steinlage said students in summer currently spend three hours a week fund-raising; that will go up to five, taking away time that could have been spent on the car. “It’s disappointing because this is one of the best groups of students I’ve seen,” he said.

Overall, Harrison said it was discouraging GSB couldn’t care less; Steinlage said the meeting was “a slap in the face.” If this is par for the course as to how funding meetings are conducted, something needs to be changed. Dropping the zero-fund bomb with no advance warning and very little recourse is not the right way to do it.