Student Clubs and Organizations Compete in Funding "Hell" (Circus)

By Alex Diamond

After their initial skirmishes at the engagement fair two weeks ago, Reed’s many student-led organizations went to war this week, battling for the votes of their fellow Reedies in a tradition lovingly referred to as Funding Circus.

Within a five-day span, Reedies had the opportunity to select which organizations they would want to receive funding this year, with every student receiving six “Top 6” votes with which they could support their favorite clubs and student unions.

Not wanting to leave the future of their clubs to chance, organization members spent the last week campaigning on behalf of everything from Hot Pot Club to the Senior Yearbook. This heart-wrenching competition has left the walls and windows of nearly every building on campus covered in a flier of some sort.

This week took a toll not just on the cleaning staff, but the mental state of those club leaders who spent days on end with the future of their prized possessions in limbo. Violet Burns is one of those club leaders who’ve spent this week struggling with the uncertainty of the Student Darkroom’s future.

When asked about their experience with Funding Circus, Burns responded by saying, “It’s definitely a stressful thing to be a part of Funding Circus,” she explained, “The stress is a lot about advertising and representing our club in a way that appeals to the student body at large.” 

This stress is even noticeable to Reedies not directly involved in the war for a chunk of Reed’s endowment. Hana Fulbright, a freshman uninvolved in any clubs noted, “Some people went crazy this week for sure, you could just see it everywhere.”

Luckily, this week has passed and campus has returned to what we at Reed would call normal. Things even went well for Burns and the Student Darkroom, with Burns gleefully noting that, “I felt really encouraged by the results, this is the highest we’ve placed in a long time, this year students are taking student spaces more seriously, and the results show that.” However, the stress and chaos of Funding Circus will return at the beginning of the second semester when Reedies will again compete for votes and dollars.