Melanie Rainer ASUA executive vice president

Recently there has been much controversy surrounding the selection of Chain Gang Junior Honorary as the UA Club of the Month, bringing into question ASUA for its club funding procedures, the criteria for the selection process for the UA Club of the Month and the selection of Chain Gang Junior Honorary.

For the record, ASUA does not wish for clubs to go through the lengthy process that is club funding, but it is forced to do so. ASUA is a university department and as a result, club funding must follow the same university guidelines that every other department on campus goes through in order to obtain funding. For this reason, ASUA has six professional club advocates to assist clubs in the funding journey. The ASUA Club Resource Center works diligently to ensure that clubs are treated with respect and are granted as much funding as possible. That said, please remember that ASUA funds are only supplemental and limited, as club funding recently has received a budget cut. It is the goal of ASUA to help provide funding and programming to clubs to help with marketing and recognition.

The UA Club of the Month was established to accomplish this goal. The only benefit earned in the UA Club of the Month goes to the clubs that are selected. The Club of the Month is a collaborative effort between ASUA and the University Activities Board to advocate for clubs. Together, these two organizations form the criteria for selecting the Club of the Month in order to ensure that the club is truly the most qualified. This means it is necessary to have an application process. Each club, large and small, received word of this new program through the Club Recognition Assembly and every club had an equal opportunity to apply.

The winning UA Club of the Month receives the opportunity to teach others about their club through the ASUA Club Bulletin Board, $25 for Fast Copy and $25 for Domino's Pizza. These prizes are not the sole purpose of the UA Club of the Month program; they are merely incentives to get clubs interested in applying for the program. A club's financial status is not taken into consideration in the selections process for the UA Club of the Month. This means that clubs both big and small are treated the same way in the selections process.

To qualify for UA Club of the Month, a club simply needs to fill out a short application and explain why they deserve the honor. With a student body population of nearly 35,000 students and with over 400 clubs and organizations on campus, ASUA and UAB must select clubs through an application process. It would simply be impossible to select a club otherwise. This is how the September Club of the Month, Chain Gang Junior Honorary, was selected.

Yes, Chain Gang currently is on probation for violating hazing and alcohol policies. However, research deeper into this organization's violation and you will find that each year Chain Gang selects new members for the club. This year's Chain Gang is in trouble due to the actions taken by last year's Chain Gang.

Some critics claim that Chain Gang should not have even been considered for the award; however, this seems counterproductive. If a club gets in trouble, should that club have to sit idle? Should the club stop demonstrating school spirit or giving back to the community through philanthropic activities? This Sunday, Chain Gang will be the primary group of volunteers for the Multiple Sclerosis Corona de Marana Cycling Race, the proceeds of which benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The following weekend, it will participate in the Light-the-Night benefit for leukemia research. These are examples of why Chain Gang was selected as the UA Club of the Month for September.

If clubs are interested in applying for October's UA Club of the Month, they should pick up an application in ASUA. Applications for each month are due to the ASUA application box on the second Monday of the month. If clubs have questions about the UA Club of the Month, they should contact the UA Club Resource Center at 520-621-6694.

Melanie Rainer is a business economics senior and the executive vice president of ASUA. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.