UA meets with administration to up student activities funding

Undergraduate Assembly officers yesterday asked the University administration for more money for student activities. UA Chairperson Mitch Winston and Vice Chairperson Ethan Youderian met yesterday with Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson to discuss what Winston termed a "need for more money for student activities." "The biggest problem we have here is that there is not enough money," Winston said last night. This year, undergraduate student government received $669,000 from the University to divide among its five branches -- the UA, the Student Activities Council, the Social Planning and Events Committee, the Nominations and Elections Committee and the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education. The UA gave SAC about $510,000 to fund the 140 groups that receive money from student government. SPEC, whose total budget came to $145,000 this year, received $85,000 from the UA. "The main problem with funding is that activities are expanding at a rate faster than the budget," Wharton sophomore Youderian said last night. "We're searching for money for student activities and we're unable to find it." Winston and Youderian also plan to meet with President Sheldon Hackney on Thursday to request more money. At Monday night's SAC meeting, Winston said student activities funding was low this year because the state threatened to cut $18 million from the University's annual allotment. He said he wants the University to increase the amount of money student government receives now that the state has given the University its full appropriation. But VPUL Morrisson said yesterday that student activities funding increased on par with the general fee -- the money students pay for non-academic services at the University. This year's increase was 6.3 percent. "Over the last five or more years we've made the committment to increase student activities funding at the same rate as the general fee," Morrisson said. The UA asked the University last year to raise the general fee to allow for more activities money, but the administration refused. Fran Walker, student activities and facilities director, said last night that the creation of SPEC last fall meant that SAC had less money to spread around to other groups. While SAC's budget only increased by about $8,700 this year, SPEC's funding went up by $20,000. Much of the disparity, however, is because SPEC has taken over some SAC duties, such as funding Homecoming, Spring Fling and concerts. Walker also said that in forming SPEC, the UA and SAC agreed to fund a portion of the group each year. SAC Chairperson David Wessels, who said last night he supports SPEC receiving the money it does, said SAC groups are suffering because there is not enough money in the budget. "We allocate only 60 to 70 percent of the money that's requested," Wessels said. "This means some worthwhile activities can't get money." But Wessels said he is not currently seeking more funds from the administration because he is trying to "make SAC better organized." Once he is happy with how SAC is run, Wessels said he will join the UA in requesting more money.

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