The possibility of being zero-funded will hit at least one student group hard — forcing its members to raise more than $8,000 on their own.

The ISU solar car team — Team PrISUm — is one of seven groups facing the possibility of being zero-funded by the Government of the Student Body. The group stands to lose $8,698, after a cut of more than 50 percent to its budget last year.

The loss of funding will require the team to raise the lost money on its own through companies or donations, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the team, said Justin Steinlage, project coordinator for Team PrISUm.

“With this team there’s no quitting,” said Steinlage, senior in mechanical engineering. “[The] team’s not going down.”

It does, however, put the team in financial danger, said Ryan Ellis, freshman in electrical engineering.

“We depend on that money every project, and now we don’t get it,” he said.

David Boike, GSB finance director, said the finance committee made the recommendation to zero-fund Team PrISUm because it is considered a pre-professional program since it is funded in part by the College of Engineering.

Boike said a pre-professional group is one that is either funded by a college council, department or is tied in some way to an academic department.

A second reason the group was recommended for zero-funding was because some of the items it was requesting were “disposable” in nature, Boike said. The items requested would be used on the car, but then thrown away.

The team asked for funding to pay for race expenditures and to buy a new solar array and battery pack, Steinlage said.

Contrary to what the finance committee argues, Ellis said, the battery and solar array are not just thrown away after the car is raced.

“Those are things we need to run the car,” he said.

“We don’t throw them away, they stay on the car. We can reuse battery packs but [they] have a limited lifespan.”

The team has been funded by GSB for most of its existence, Steinlage said.

“As far as I know, every time before [this year] funding has been given,” he said.

Although the team has been funded by GSB in previous years, the funding was looked at more deeply because of GSB’s recent battle with a budget deficit of more than $400,000.

“We are harder pressed to enforce our rules because our budget situation is so dire,” Boike said.

The finance committee is looking more closely at all groups this year, not just Team PrISUm, said Drew Miller, member of the finance committee.

“In the past, the finance committee hasn’t been universally enforcing its rules. … You saw some of that selectivity in the Cuffs debate last semester,” Miller said.

The finance committee’s decision serves only as a recommendation to the senate. GSB senators could decide to fund the group against the committee’s recommendation, according to GSB bylaws.

If the team cannot raise the money on its own, it could cost the team the chance to race at the American Solar Challenge, a cross-country solar car race against other universities.

Iowa State has participated in the race every year since Team PrISUm’s inception in 1990, unlike many other teams, Ellis said.

“It could mean us not racing,” he said. “If we don’t have a solar array, we can’t race.”

The close scrutiny and zero-funding are not something GSB wants to do, Boike said.

“Zero-funding is probably the crappiest thing we have to do, but we have to have a balanced budget and there is no way around it,” he said.