The College Republicans plan to ask for $3,000 to fund their CPAC trip at tonight’s Student Federation meeting. The amount is the lowest they’ve ever requested in the last years, according to the College Republicans.
“It’s taken us a long time to get here,” senior and President of Hillsdale College’s College Republicans Ross Hatley said.
“CPAC, in total, is a $16,000 trip to run, and $3,000 is the exact amount of we need in order for it to work,” Acting President of College Republicans Rachel Umaña said. “We simply don’t have the funds for the bus as it stands. We will have the funds once we get all the money from the incentive programs that we are involved in, but that money will not come in time. Therefore, we need the Fed to help us get to that final stretch.”
The student ticket price offered by the chapter is $180, plus tax. The main cost of the trip comes from ticket, hotel, and bus fares. While most of the money has been covered by chapter fundraising, the $3,000 the chapter is requesting from student fed will cover the remaining cost of the bus.
The Hillsdale County Republicans also donated $1,000 to the chapter.
“As we do every year, we aim to never take money from student fed,” Hatley said. “It’s a funding source of last resort.”
Speakers at this year’s CPAC include Ajit Pai, Ben Shapiro, Dana Loesch, and Deneen Borelli.
“You get to see the biggest names in conservative politics and get to be an active participant in the conservative movement, which is exciting,” Umaña said.
Hillsdale’s chapter is running the cheapest trip to CPAC in the state, according to Hatley.
“We started planning in May,” he said. “Through the years, we’ve just gotten better at running this trip.”
The chapter is taking 60 students to CPAC this year and already has a growing waiting list.
“Nothing is locked in and we’re still in discussion with the finances committee,” Hatley said.