When members of Hillel at Mississippi State University, the only Jewish student organization on campus, gather for a Shabbat service, they serve challah and Kedem grape juice.

The organization, which welcomes both Jewish and non-Jewish students, serves latkes each year at Hanukkah and hamentashen cookies at Purim.

The food isn’t just an incentive to draw hungry college students to events, but a cornerstone of the group’s traditions, vice president and MSU junior Emma Noble told The Dispatch.

“Food is a very important element of the Jewish community and culture, so having that accessible at our educational events is sometimes very important to what we’re doing,” Noble said.

But now that tradition is at risk. Most of Hillel’s budget for food comes from appropriations made by the Student Association, the student-led governing body and the largest student organization on campus.

The SA in August announced appropriations this semester are suspended to ensure full compliance with state and federal legislation, leaving groups like Hillel with hard choices about what they can afford.

“Those sorts of things we’ll do our best to continue to support, but we’re definitely being quite conscious about the things that we need to spend money on and the things we don’t since everything is uncertain about when and if appropriations will be available again,” Noble said.

Mississippi State students pay a $25 student activity fee each semester that funds events and student organizations. Last spring, SA appropriated nearly $50,000 to 87 organizations.

But in July, a state law took effect that prohibits state funding from being spent on programming or curriculum related to diversity, equity and inclusion. And while the law does include an exception for “registered student organizations,” it does not exempt student activity fees.

The legislation is currently blocked after a federal judge ruled it may violate the First Amendment rights of students and teachers, but it appears MSU, and other universities, are proceeding cautiously.

MSU Vice President of Strategic Communications and Director of Public Affairs Sid Salter declined to comment on the situation, instead referring The Dispatch to a statement from John Sewell, communications director for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.

“Student activity fees are state funds. Universities are following state and federal law, including the First Amendment’s requirement that student activity fees be used in a viewpoint and content neutral manner,” the statement reads.

Other universities, including the University of Mississippi, have also announced the suspension of student activity fee funding. Because Mississippi University for Women doesn’t collect student funding fees, Communications Director Tyler Wheat confirmed The W is not dealing with the same problem.

The Reflector, MSU’s student newspaper, reported a letter from Regina Hyatt, vice president for student affairs, was read aloud during an Aug. 25 SA meeting announcing the suspension of appropriations to all student organizations on campus.

The funding from the student activity fee will remain unused and untouched this semester, the Reflector reported.

Organizations adjust, cut back

Since then, members of student organizations like Hillel have been reconsidering what programming they can provide this semester.

“We’d like to be able to do outreach for other students, we think that’s really beneficial for them, for us and for the campus community to learn together,” Nobel said. “Not having the funding to back that up certainly makes that more challenging, and I’m sure that is not the kind of consequence intended by doing things like this.”

Ella Jones, a sophomore who serves as treasurer for both the Women in STEM Departmental Outreach and Mentorship club and the Data Science Club, said both organizations have had to lower their budgets this semester.

“The appropriations have served as the backbone of many student organization events on campus, meaning they rely on appropriations to fund some or all of their events,” Jones, who also sits on the SA appropriations committee, wrote in a text to The Dispatch. “I believe that finding a way to fund the opportunities and sense of community these organizations provide needs to be the next step.”

For organizations like MSU Dance Marathon, which raises funds for LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, the loss of appropriations means the loss of up-front costs needed to fund events.

“Since we are a fundraising organization, we don’t really retain any funding year-to-year, so the upfront costs for tabling and fundraising may be more challenging this year, but given how early it is in the semester, I can’t say exactly how it’ll affect us yet,” Aidan Dong, sophomore and member of MSU Dance Marathon told The Dispatch.

A loss of student engagement?

Dong remembers feeling concerned last semester as he watched the anti-DEI bill make its way through the Legislature.

“I’ve personally been frustrated because I feel like this legislation has had a much more sweeping impact than lawmakers thought,” he said. “I think it’s having, likely, undesired consequences.”

One of those consequences, Dong said, is the impact suspending organization funding could have on student engagement on campus.

“I think that’s especially important for the fall semester because it helps get freshmen engaged on campus, and more engaged students are more likely to (find) success on campus,” he said. “So I think it could have a directly detrimental effect on the freshmen class performance and people’s connection to campus.”

Noble said she hopes the loss of funding doesn’t result in smaller organizations without other funding sources, like Hillel, disappearing entirely, especially those that are “fulfilling niche needs and interests.” She would also hate to see fewer activities happening on campus each day, she said.

“That’s part of what makes Mississippi State so special,” Noble said. “That’s something they definitely marketed … all the student organizations that they offer and support.

“I’m hoping that we can all hold our breath and get through a semester with no appropriations and that things will be looking up soon because I think it’s an important part of our campus culture, and I’d hate to lose it,” she later added.

Dispatch reporter Cadence Harvey contributed to the reporting in this article.

McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.

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