<rleton’s Women in Math and Science group (WHIMS) ran a crepe stand last Friday in Sayles Hill due to a lack of CSA funding for their group. Lauren Kanner, a fourth year member and third year leader of the group, noticed that a main member of the CSA Budget Committee bought two crepes. “He probably felt bad,” she said. “There is empathy, it’s just a bureaucracy.”
The 41 dollars they raised went to buying food for the Women in Action Panel that took place on February 18th. The group also received 25 dollars from the CSA’s Alt Bev fund, which funds non-alcoholic beverages for group meetings.
CSA granted the group $50, a third of the money they usually receive each year, quoting bylaw changes that prevent them from funding food for events. In addition, the Gender and Sexuality Center, which began supporting the group last year, could not make up for the lost money because they too had suffered a funding cut. Lastly, departmental offices refused to fund the panel because the meetings hosted interdepartmental discussions.
Kanner described the panels as “empowering. [They] show female students, ‘look, this is what you can do.’” The panels offer a place for Carleton women to discuss their interests in math and science related careers, their experiences and how they can balance family and work in math and science careers.
WHIMS suffered from these changes because their main activity, the Women in Action Panel, often has to happen during lunch time, which means that the group has to provide food for its guests. The panels consists of Carleton professors in the Math and Science departments and guest speakers, who often cannot fit time into their schedule to stay around campus after hours.
In the past, WHIMS has received funding for all of its activities. They plan to apply for money through the Special Allocations Fund for their annual “Girl Scout Math and Science Day” in the spring.