The Student Activities Finance Board recommended $256,154 in fall supplemental funding to the Associated Student Government Wednesday, granting most of the 28 student groups that asked for funds at least half of what they requested.
With $287,000 to allocate, SAFB had more money than ever to work with this year, ASG Financial Vice President Carson Kuo said. The remaining $30,000 that SAFB did not recommend to any particular group will go to Senate, which has the final say on cutting recommendations and granting groups additional money at next week’s Senate meeting.
Part of the reason SAFB had more money this year was because of revenue generated by A&O Productions, said Kuo, an Education senior. A&O generated about $110,000 in revenue from ticket sales, which was given back to SAFB.
On Wednesday, A&O was granted $98,493 for a winter concert, but SAFB rejected its proposals for another concert and a comedian during Winter Quarter.
“While we wished to give them more money, we couldn’t justify giving $60,000 more while asking other groups to take that kind of hit,” Kuo said.
A&O Sen. Neil Shah said he was mostly happy with the recommendation but disappointed that A&O received less money this year than in last year’s fall funding cycle.
Last year, the group received $72,195 for a Winter Quarter concert with Ben Harper and a printer.
“A&O is coming off one of the best years in our 30-year history,” said Shah, a Weinberg senior. “But we got less money than last year, which is contrary to what the SAFB says.”
SAFB strongly considers a group’s programming from the previous year when making recommendations, Kuo said. Several groups, including For Members Only, did not get as much money because of prior poor performance.
SAFB rejected FMO’s proposals for a winter performance and a spring speaker because of a poorly executed event during Fall Quarter 2000, when 15 people showed up for an event that cost $13,000, Kuo said. FMO was granted $200 of the $85,495 it requested, which will be used to buy a printer.
Mike Blake, FMO treasurer and a senator for 1835 Hinman, said the group had hoped to get at least the $27,112 request for a spring speaker, and that the group would spend the next week preparing to make an appeal. But Blake said he understood SAFB’s reasoning.
“They definitely do their research of what they funded for in the years past,” said Blake, a Medill sophomore. “When someone presents valid reasons, you definitely have to accept the consequences of that.”
Neither Arts Alliance nor COLORS, an alliance between the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association and the National Pan-Hellenic Council, received any of the funds they had requested.
Arts Alliance requested $6,680 for a phone and light and sound equipment. Kuo said SAFB did not recommend the funds because the requests were not explained well enough and the group already has a lot of their own money to spend.
“When we make our second and third (funding cycles), we’ve got to be really stringent,” Kuo said.
COLORS, which promotes diversity and ethnic sensitivity, did not receive their request for a spring speaker because several of their events last year were “mediocre,” Kuo said.
Panhel President Peggy Yu said she was disappointed that the event was not funded and that the group would appeal. But the group will find a way to bring the speaker to campus regardless of what happens, she said.
“Ideally, we’d have their support,” said Yu, a Speech senior. “But if not, we’ll find a way.”
Kuo said the recommendations were some of the best SAFB has ever made because the committee communicated well.
“The confidence which they voted on the recommendations was very encouraging,” he said.
