For the 2026-2027 academic year, the Hamline Indigenous People’s Society (HIPS) requested a $13,000 budget increase to fund major cultural initiatives, including a campus powwow and high school outreach programs. The university’s Economic Affairs Committee (EAC) approved a $1,000 increase instead, citing the necessity of limiting increases to the mandatory undergraduate student activity fee.
In the previous academic year, HIPS operated with a $3,000 budget, marking an increase from prior years when the organization had no funding. The club requested an additional $13,000 for the 2026-2027 academic year to finance expanded programming. Proposed events in the budget included bringing high school students to campus, busing students off campus for field trips and hosting a powwow. Following the review, the EAC approved a $1,000 increase to the club’s budget rather than the requested amount.
“With these three large goals, getting just a $1,000 increase felt like a blow,” said HIPS board member Layla Stenson.
The EAC, administered by Hamline Undergraduate Student Congress (HUSC), allocates annual budgets to chartered organizations through comprehensive yearly proposals rather than funding on an event-by-event basis. According to the EAC chair, senior Alicia Maddux, the committee does not utilize a specific rubric or outline for budget decisions. Instead, the committee weighs metrics such as previous budget allocations, the percentage of previous funds spent, the justification for the requested increase, organization membership numbers and event turnout.
“We tend to focus on factors like how much was their previous allocated budget, how much was fully spent of their budget, what is the increase for the next school year,
how much justification is given regarding the increase, how many members are in the organization, what the turnout is at events etc.,” Maddux said via email.
Maddux stated that the decision was not a specific denial of funding for a powwow, but rather a response to the overall size of the requested $13,000 increase. The committee noted that fully funding the request was not feasible under current budget constraints, as the total approved funds for all chartered organizations directly dictate the mandatory student fee paid by all undergraduates.
“The total approved amount for chartered organizations directly affects the student fees that each undergraduate has to pay,” Maddux said via email.
Following the budget allocation, a miscommunication happened regarding the timeline for the budget appeals process. HIPS board members stated they lacked a clear timeline from the administration. After receiving the concrete budget decision and sending an email to initiate an appeal, they were informed that the HUSC assembly vote to finalize budgets was scheduled for the next day.
“If the original email denying our funding had mentioned the deadline, we would have been made aware of that date instead of the night before,” HIPS board member Annabella Topliff said.
Conversely, Maddux stated that HIPS reached out regarding the appeals process 10 days after the approved budgets had been distributed to all organizations. Maddux provided the requested appeals information at that time, but noted that due to timing constraints, the organization was unable to complete the process before the final vote.
“10 days after the approved budgets were sent out to each organization, HIPS had reached out about the appeals process, which I provided that information,” Maddux said via email. “Due to timing constraints, they were not able to complete this process.”
Despite the primary budget allocation, options remain for HIPS to fund their proposed events. Maddux confirmed that the allocated funds can be used toward hosting the powwow as part of the club’s programming. Additionally, she noted that student organizations can apply for supplemental financial support on an event-by-event basis through institutional Collaboration, Challenge and Contingency funds.
“These resources exist to help ensure that important programming can still take place even if initial allocations do not cover the full requested amount,” Maddux said via email.
In addition to university funding, HIPS is pursuing independent avenues to support its operational goals. The organization is currently exploring outside educational grants, hosting independent fundraisers, and discussing potential event collaborations with neighboring institutions, including Macalester College, the U of M Twin Cities, St. Catherine University and Augsburg University.
“We’re looking into outside educational grants, collaborating with other schools in the area, and possibly doing an expo where we hire dancers to come in,” Topliff said.
The hope is that with outside funding, HIPS will still be able to put on the events they were planning.
“Every club deserves to be seen and get the resources they need, but as Native students and First Peoples of this land, it’s really important there are resources for us to do culturally important things,” Stenson said.
