Tonight’s student group funding debates should not be as contentious as in years past, said David Kim, Associated Student Government’s financial vice president.
Only a few student groups are expected to appeal the recommendations, said Kim, who also serves as chairman of the Student Activities Finance Board that handles student group funding. Nine groups appealed during last year’s supplemental funding cycle, arguing they needed more money.
“If you talk to student group leaders, most of them are pretty satisfied,” said Kim, a Weinberg senior.
Senate will allocate about $193,300 to 22 student groups during its annual fall supplemental funding cycle this week. A-status student groups – organizations that receive money from SAFB – use this funding to pay for speakers, performers and administrative costs during Winter and Spring quarters.
SAFB distributed funding booklets at last week’s meeting. These booklets list how much money each student group asked for and how much funding SAFB recommends.
Senate will vote tonight to decide how much each student group actually will receive. The SAFB recommendations range from $75,000, for A&O Productions, to no supplemental funding for Flicker Film Festival, which showcases student films. Most recommendations are between $1,000 and $10,000.
Student groups asked for less money than in past years, making it easier for ASG to fulfill a greater portion of their requests, Kim said. He thought student groups might have asked for less because of their experience with a tight budget during Spring Quarter’s funding cycle, the larger of the two major funding cycles during the year.
“Almost all the student groups had experience with spring funding last year,” Kim said after last week’s Senate meeting, “I think maybe some student groups may have remembered that.”
The Asian Pacific American Coalition received a recommendation matching their request of $674. President Yaejoon Kwon , a Weinberg senior, said the group asked for a small amount because they have not received any supplemental funding in recent years. Last year, the organization requested about $3,000 and did not receive any funding, she said. Keeping this in mind, it asked for a much smaller amount this year, she said.
“The request from our side was a lot more reasonable,” she said. “Hopefully in future years, we can work our way back up.”
While A&O received $39,500 less than their requested amount, the group was pleased with the result, said Chairman Peter Kahn, a Communication senior. The recommendation was a “little more” than they expected. The group will use the money for their A&O Ball concert in the spring, Kahn said.
College Democrats requested about $38,500 and received about $22,000. The group would have needed $38,000 to bring their top-choice speaker, Gen. Wesley Clark. But they will use the lower amount to bring a different speaker.
“We’re very excited with what we got,” said Andrew London, treasurer of College Democrats and a SESP sophomore.
Even though Flicker Film Festival didn’t receive a funding recommendation, president Caroline Kulczuga, a Weinberg sophomore, said the group does not plan to appeal.
They requested $3,000, but getting fall funding was not critical because they usually get more funding in the spring, she said.
SAFB based their recommendations on how each group used the supplemental funding it was given last year, taking student attendance at events and the reliability of the group into consideration.
“Our main purpose is to see that this money is distributed fairly and to the benefit of the student body as a whole,” Kim said.
Reach Diana Samuels at [email protected].
