USAC to discuss allocation of surplus

Undergraduate student government officials are set to decide how to spend more than $150,000 of surplus funds at their meeting Tuesday night.

Undergraduate Students Association Council surplus funding is money carried over from one year’s council to the next and calculated every November. The councilmembers are working with about $152,000 this year. Last year’s surplus was about $384,000.

The surplus decreased this year partially because of an endowment last year’s council created with $100,000 of their surplus. USAC established the endowment with the UCLA Foundation and receives 5 percent of the endowment back for USAC program funds each year.

If the council does not allocate all of the surplus funds at the meeting, some of the leftover funds may go into the endowment.

USAC President John Joanino said councilmembers still need to discuss what to do with leftover funds.

“We have a good diversity of proposals. They can be fully funded, partially funded or not funded at all,” said Joanino.

Several councilmembers said the small surplus this year has prompted them to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on surplus funds.

“The main thing is that all councilmembers should bring up any of their ideas to make sure everyone has a fair shot (at funding their programs),” said Roy Champawat, director of the UCLA Student Union.

At USAC’s last fall quarter meeting, councilmembers asked for additional time to organize their funding proposals. The delay caused the opening of some USAC funds that support student group operations to open later than previously anticipated.

Jessica Trumble, cultural affairs commissioner, plans to ask for $45,000 from surplus to fund the Jazz Reggae Festival.

“It seems like a large number but it’s less than we typically ask from surplus,” Trumble said. “The Jazz Reggae Festival is critical to UCLA. It’s the largest student-run music festival in the entire country and it happens here on our campus.”

Avi Oved, the USAC internal vice president, and Savannah Badalich, the student wellness commissioner, plan to ask for $20,000 to $30,000 to fund the development of a safety app for UCLA students.

The app requires a one-time fee of $20,000 to be functional for the UCLA campus.

Badalich said she thinks that funding will be difficult to find if surplus doesn’t cover the app’s cost.

“It’s not as though we can go to a different source or find sponsors for a music event or anything like that because it’s not something people generally like to talk about,” Badalich said.

Badalich and Oved said they are also asking for funds from the Student Risk Education Committee Fund.

Jessica Kim, the campus events commissioner, said she plans to ask for $7,000 for the Jack Benny and Spencer Tracy Awards, an event that hosts accomplished dramatic actors or comedians as guest speakers.

“What I’m asking plus what I’m willing to put in, I think it’s a pretty low cost for something that the entire campus to get excited about,” Kim said.

USAC External Vice President Maryssa Hall, who is presenting to the council about funding for United States Student Association registration fees, could not be reached for comment.

The capital contingency fund will open once surplus spending is set by councilmembers. Both student organizations and councilmembers with offices in Kerckhoff Hall can apply to the capital contingency fund to buy items like furniture and computers for their offices.

Published by Jasmine Aquino

Jasmine Aquino was an assistant Opinion editor in the 2016-2017 year. Previously, she was an Opinion and News contributor.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *