The May 4 Task Force was the last student organization this semester to request programming funds from the Undergraduate Student Senate Allocations Committee.

The committee allocated $13,399.80 for the Task Force’s May 4 commemoration and denied a request for $2,600.

Allocations Committee guidelines require program requests to be submitted six academic weeks before the program date to allow time for “planning and publicity.” Therefore, last night’s meeting was the last of the semester, unless a group requests funds to attend a seminar or conference, which only require a four-week period between the request and the date of the event.

The May 4 Task Force was approved funding for the 35th annual May 4, 1970, commemoration and for a series of panel discussions from people who witnessed the events of May 4 to be held May 1 in the Kiva.

The commemoration will feature annual events such as the candlelight march and vigil, as well as speakers. One speaker will be Bill Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA.

It will be held in the Commons and the Prentice Hall parking lot and will start at 11 p.m. May 3.

Speakers for the panel discussions will include Tim Butz, executive director of the Nebraska American Civil Liberties Union, who was a graduate student at Kent State in 1970.

Sarah Lund-Goldstein, co-chair of the Task Force, said Butz ripped the Constitution from the back of a history book and buried it at the Victory Bell on May 1, 1970.

One of the panels, entitled “Vietnam, Cambodia, Kent State,” will be a veteran-centered program focusing on veterans’ reactions to the events of May 4.

“We’re pulling in all locals for that panel,” Lund-Goldstein said.

The Allocations Committee denied funding a program entitled “The Spring Forum: Live From Blanket Hill” because the purpose of the program did not fit with the committee’s guidelines.

The program was to be a concert with the artists featured on the Task Force CD. The proceeds from which are used to fund scholarships.

Allocations guidelines prohibit funding programs where the allocation is used to fund rewards.

At the end of the meeting, the committee members joked about throwing a party to celebrate their last meeting.

“I’m happy,” Sen. Chris Bowers said. “It’s definitely a tiring process, but we’re through it.”

Bowers said he thought the committee did a great job this semester.

“I’m just looking forward to graduating and moving on,” Bowers said.

He will spend the next few weeks helping his successor transition into the position of senator for business and finance.

Contact student politics reporter Jessica Rothschuh at [email protected].