By Jeff Powalisz

In response to complaints from student groups, the Budget Review Committee (BRC) made an attempt to change its policy about funding food for group events. It failed.

BRC Chairman Michael Benson proposed the change at last Tuesday’s meeting to be affective immediately, but the group voted it down 7-1.

However, Benson is overriding that decision.

The Student Government Association vice president for financial affairs will be issuing an executive order in Senate Thurs-day to allow BRC the op-tion to vote on food funding.

“The question is ‘why wait seven weeks?'” Benson said. “With the huge outcry, there is no need to wait until the summer.”

BRC members were hesitant to change their policy in the middle of the semester, said Vice Chairwoman Monique Lavendar, who issued the one favoring vote. Many student groups had applied for funding for food throughout the year and had been denied.

“The BRC is an organization that works off past decisions,” Lavendar said. “I deal with students on a daily basis and help them out, and I felt it was an issue that needs to be worked on now, rather than July 1.”

The group held a forum Monday for group representatives to express their ideas and suggestions on the topic and the BRC as a whole, but the meeting drew only one representative, Latin American Student Association (LASO) President Gilberto Osorio.

LASO recently had trouble securing funding from the BRC for a banquet to honor Northeastern’s service workers. Benson said the committee could not fund the food portion of the event, yet they felt the event could not be run without the food.

Food is last on a list of types of spending the BRC does not fund including drugs, alcohol, political lobbying and fundraisers.

“Some groups felt it would be unfair to start funding food now after they have been rejected throughout the year,” Lavender said, denying a request to name any groups. “But I felt it was a problem that needed to be addressed now.”

The open forums set up by SGA and BRC are meant to ensure fairness for all students, Benson said.

“These are set up to explain our purpose and to have constructive ideas brought up,” Benson said. “We tell people to give us their thoughts, and we record what people say, every last thing, even if it is crazy or irrational. The main scope of this is the food issue, and it has to be done in a democratic way.”

While SGA President Michael Romano said he supports the change in BRC policy, his previous concerns have been centered around the kind of food funded.

“Food was being used for small groups and in little ways, like pizza parties,” Romano said. “That certainly is not the best use of students’ money. I have always expressed openly and privately that there will always be deviations from that policy. I don’t want to see quality student programming being hindered because of some long-standing tradition.”

Romano said he agrees the need to fund food is a pressing issue worthy of being immediately dealt with.

“I hope change will occur in a timely manner,” he said. “There is no need to retain a policy that seems to be spreading more outcry than praise.”