In the midst of a marathon meeting on the Hill, the
undergraduate student government approved a financial boost for
newly recognized student groups despite opposition from the
council’s primary budget consultants.
As dorm residents looked on during the five-hour meeting Tuesday
night, the Undergraduate Students Association Council voted to
double the cap of funds that would go to organizations not
previously funded by USAC.
Early winter quarter the council determined the distribution of
the money injected into the budget as a result of the passage of an
online fee referendum last quarter. Out of the $144,420 that was
added to the USAC budget, council voted to allocate $98,778 to
established student groups and leave $31,208 for new groups ““
that is, groups previously unfunded by USAC.
After reviewing applications from both old groups ““
already funded by USAC ““ and new groups, the heads of the
Budget Review Committee and Finance Committee made their
recommendations to council.
According to the two committees, council should have distributed
$14,700 to the new groups and placed any remaining money in the
contingency fund, to which all groups can apply for supplemental
funding.
But many councilmembers said they felt the amount new groups
would receive was too low.
Council decided with a 8-1-1 vote to double the cap that the
budget committee had placed on new groups from $2,000 to $4,000
““Â upping the total new group allocation to $29,400.
Both budget committee heads said this distribution method was
unfair.
“It sets a pretty dangerous precedent when council raises
the funds by 100 percent without looking at the
(applications),” said BRC Director Justin Levi.
Backed by Finance Committee Chairman Hrug DerManuelian, Levi
argued some new groups wouldn’t have received increased
funding if they underwent the rigorous fall quarter allocation
process, in which nearly all groups received funding cuts.
But most councilmembers said the boost was fair when considering
the time of allocation.
The new groups need funding for about half the year so they
should receive half the amount of money the old groups received,
said Financial Supports Commissioner Andrew LaFlamme. The cap for
old groups was $8,000.
The lone dissenting vote on council, Facilities Commissioner
Adam Pearlman, said council’s role in the budget decisions
should only be one of oversight.
“To make a decision in a matter of a half hour … is
irresponsible,” Pearlman said.
Still, newly funded groups said they felt the money was
“well-deserved.”
President of the newly funded Nikkei Student Union, Evan
Okamura, said the influx will greatly benefit the club, which he
said wasn’t in a good financial situation earlier this
year.