Last Thursday, Nov. 6th, Katherine Bascom ’10 brought the Beehive Collective to the University. An arts-based grassroots campaign that educates people about globalization, it was the first project completed under the Independent Project feature of Student Budget Committee (SBC). The feature allows students not affiliated with a student group to obtain funding for events.

According to Jared Keller ’09, Bascom’s project liaison, the first project was a success.

“This Independent Project sets a good precedent for future projects,” Keller said. “It went well and was an easy process. It will help future students bring performances [to campus]. These avenues are available so even non-student groups can make exciting things happen on this campus. We want to make sure that every individual can see their dreams happen.”

Bascom first introduced the idea in early October and came to the SBC meeting with a basic idea and costs laid out, Keller reported. Bascom fulfilled the requirements for an Independent Project introduced to the SBC, including a detailed plan of who would be coming to campus, where the event would take place and a clear case for how the event would benefit the University community.

“[The project] worked extremely well,” Keller said. “She came in with a detailed, well thought-out proposal, which helped make the process as effective as a long-standing student group. It was clear that she was passionate about bringing the Beehive Collective to campus.”

As with any student group, the SBC first asked Bascom to attempt to find additional money from other sources. Bascom was able to obtain funds from a professor in Environmental Studies and from Campus Projects.

“She came back the next week and had decreased the price from $1400 to $690. This is more impressive than the average student group,” Keller said.

Both Bascom and Keller found that the Independent Project process went smoothly. According to Bascom, the WSA and her project liaison helped her through the process effectively.

“[My project liaison] was helpful in giving me people to contact and everyone wanted the project to work out so they were really helpful,” Bascom said. “Even though I organized it myself, it helped that I worked with some great people.”

Keller found the project liaison feature of the Independent Project to be beneficial both in making the process smoother and in allowing for members of the WSA to interact more with the student body.

“[The project liaison helps because] in the future we may have six or seven Independent Projects at a time,” Keller said. “It is a good opportunity for members of the WSA to have increased interaction with the student body they might not otherwise encounter on a day to day basis.”

Although Bascom reports the process as an easy one overall, she did encounter obstacles. The financial aspect, including the process of setting up an account and transferring money, was difficult, and Bascom recommended compiling a list of procedures for carrying out the project. Nevertheless, Bascom found that the availability of the Independent Project was what helped motivate her to bring The Beehive Collective to campus.

“The creation of Independent Projects motivated me to do this event,” Bascom said. “I’m not sure if I would have done it if [the Independent Project] didn’t exist. I was really passionate about supporting the Beehive Collective and bringing them to campus. I like the Independent Project because it allows people to use their passion for an event, speaker or idea to get the ball rolling and make it happen.”