Student Senate passed a special funding allocation to a campus public relations group, Monday, but the bill didn’t make it off the senate floor without a fight.

Three senators opposed a bill giving Public Relations Student Society of America $1,000 in student money for a trip to a national conference in Philadelphia. Two more senators abstained from voting.

Finance Commission unanimously approved PRSSA’s request and introduced the bill to Senate last week. Senator Zach Ahola said he and other commission members were impressed with the group’s pitch for funding.

“These people are hardworking individuals; they put together a good presentation,” Ahola said. “This is a great chance for students to get out and network instead of just sitting in a professor’s classroom, which increases their chance of getting a job.”

Rachel Vick, president of the UW-Eau Claire PRSSA chapter, said although the group held fundraisers and circulated sponsorship letters seeking donations, it was only able to raise about $200.

Last year, Eau Claire PRSSA won a large donation during its funding drive that allowed executive board members to make the flight to last year’s conference in San Francisco, Senate Public Relations Commission Director Erica Rasmussen said.

But no large donors stepped forward this year, so Vick and other PRSSA executives asked Senate for funding. Flights to Philadelphia cost approximately $200. That’s not factoring in hotel costs and other expenses. All in all, the trip costs about $750 per person, Vick said.

Senate’s allocation will help offset the expenses of the six PRSSA members flying to the conference, Oct. 25.

“Going to weekly events make you excited about PR, but going to national events makes you passionate,” Vick said. “Going to these events also helps you decide what you want to do in the broad PR field.”

Vick attended a leadership conference for PRSSA chapter presidents this summer and said the experience helped make her more confident in her job prospects post-graduation.

“In the PR field, networking is everything,” Vick said. “One of the girls who went to the  conference last year met somebody from Milwaukee and ended up getting a really good internship with
State Farm.”

Vick said money allocated to PRSSA could help benefit more than the six PR students going to the conference. She’s working to put together a student-run PR group that could promote for campus organizations.

But senator Frank Heaton said in open session he didn’t think doling out money to PRSSA was a good use of student funds.

“I’m voting this down, not because of what the organization is going for, but because I think the allocation amount is too much,” Heaton said. “As far as planning their budget, they would have had to apply in the spring. I would love to fund them through in future years.”

Senate also passed a bill Monday moving about $600 from the last year’s carryover balance to the senate special reserve account. After factoring in the PRSSA allocation, senate now holds $11,000 in its special reserve account and about $8,000 in carryover.