After discussion and debate over four funds requests from the burgeoning Management Consulting Club, Hillsdale College’s Student Federation approved a $370 appropriation.
The federation representatives approved the allocation of money Sept. 22 for the club to put toward a visit to a business school, interview prep materials, and its new logo design. Student Fed also designated $141.91 to the Conservation Club to buy additional recycling bins for the residence halls.
Some representatives challenged a $150 charge to pay for the Consulting Club’s professionally designed logo, suggesting that cheaper options were available and should have been pursued. The club’s leadership said it was necessary to spark interest in the club and attract members at the Source. The logo features a blue shield with the letters HCC and the club’s name below it.
“No one knows what management consulting is, so we’re trying to incorporate the lucrative and prestigious aspects of the field with the tradition of the college,” Consulting Club President senior Peter Staab said.
Student Fed approved the request 19-1.
The federation also discussed the possibility of charging a fee for the proposed Nov. 4 trip to the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, a visit that is open to anyone interested. Club leadership, however, expressed concern that the fee would make it difficult to attract interest. Student Fed agreed and approved unanimously to fully fund the trip so no fee would be necessary.
“The club is very, very new, and so their request for funding is understandable because they are trying to get people to join, so asking for dues or fees will make it hard to get people to join,” Kappa Kappa Gamma Rep. junior Maria Theisen said. “We want to support something that will benefit Hillsdale’s campus because we don’t have a club like this, and it’s a very specific field.”
Student Fed also approved 18-2 the club’s requests to buy interview preparation materials specific to the consulting field, which are not available through the career services office.
“Consulting firms don’t do behavioral interviews, ‘tell us about yourself,’ that kind of thing,” Staab said. “They give you a business case and ask you to analyze it. This book, called ‘Case Interview Secrets,’ walks you through how to analyze a business case. “
Staab said the club will probably need more financial support from Student Fed in the future, as it works to establish itself and its alumni network. But he promised the group would reach out to alumni contacts to gauge the potential for donations before returning to Student Fed for assistance.
“We haven’t reached out to alumni for financial assistance yet, but we’re open to doing that,” Staab said. “We would flesh out our alumni willingness to give before coming back to Student Fed.”
Consulting Club Secretary senior Garrett Glassburn agreed: “They’ve already done so much in terms of getting the leg work done, we didn’t want to impose on them already. We wanted to show them that this is something we can get off the ground independently.”
Student Fed did deny 19-1 the Consulting Club’s request for an additional $130 to fund a trip to Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., a consulting firm in Virginia, next semester. The federation, however, agreed to reconsider the proposal closer to the date of the trip, after the club has more concrete plans.
The federation also unanimously approved the Conservation Club’s request for more recycling bins, without discussion.
Conservation Club President senior Bilyana Petkova and Treasurer junior Jon Coote requested $140 to expand the club’s dorm recycling program by adding 24 new bins.
“Olds had four boxes, and they were full all the time, so we want to make it more efficient,” Petkova said. “McIntyre had only one. So we want to have two or three in McIntyre and cover some new dorms, as well.”
The club has 20 bins spread between Olds, McIntyre, Galloway, Benzing, and Simpson residences. The new bins will go in those dorms as well as in Whitley and Waterman residences and all three sororities.
“Hopefully, we can increase the number of residents that we’re affecting from 500 to 650,” Coote said.