SGA cuts budgets across the board
Eric Elizondo
Issue date: 5/15/07 Section: Other News
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On April 24, the SGA approved $47,000 for the Student Activities Board, which was $28,000 less than what it petitioned for. The Council of Clubs received $54,000, $16,000 less than what it petitioned. The Sports Clubs Association was given $45,000, which was $2,500 less than it requested, and the SGA approved $24,000 for itself.
On May 1, the SGA accepted the Graduate Student Association into the SOC and allocated $20,000 to it, $4,000 less than it petitioned for.
Marcella Vasquez, CoC chair, said she felt the decision was made rather hastily, but that the CoC will petition the SGA for a supplemental allocation in the fall.
"We are going to go back and ask for more money," she said. "We're not going back just to ask for the sake of asking, but we have a purpose."
Vasquez said she tried to cut as much as possible from operating costs and not cut much from the clubs when drafting the budget, but without any supplemental allocation, club events might not meet the same level of student expectations as they have in the past.
Senior Senator Jonathan Hanus lists overspending as a problem in the CoC budget request.
"If the CoC's problem is that they can't hold as many events, I suggest they hold less $6,000-$8,000 events and more $1,000-$2,000 events, because more money doesn't necessarily guarantee more enjoyment or more attendance," he said.
Student Activities Board President Jennifer Monroy also said she felt the allocations were handled in a hasty way.
"Although the SAB's budget was discussed longer than any other budget presented, I still feel that it was an insufficient amount of time," she said. "It was also unfair that we weren't given a chance to defend our budget before it was cut."
Like the CoC, the SAB will also return in the fall for a supplemental allocation. Monroy said that even after cutting less successful events and re-budgeting, the SAB will still need more money for next year.
Part of the problem, Monroy said, was that the new senators seemed unprepared and uninformed about the allocation process.