AUSA Senate allocated an additional $61,514 after hearing appeals from “license-fundable” organizations last night, and passed the entire finance allocation package for 2002-2003 totaling $254,437.
Groups that appealed for additional financing were Club Sports, the Alpine Club, the Forensics Team, the Non-Traditional/Transfer Students Organization, Circle K International, Model United Nations, the AUSA Senate, the Society of Spanish Language and the Arab Student Association.
Club Sports was originally granted $1,000 because the group underwent the application process late. According to Candace Caulkins, this was due to “the poor communication surrounding the re-licensing application,
Senator Andrew Petraitis, co-chair of the Finance Committee, said the original allocation was only temporary until the committee could review the organization’s constitution.
Once formally approved as “license-fundable,” Club Sports received an additional $48,000 for a total allocation of $49,000, compared to the $87,000 they had requested.
Caulkins said, “As the second largest organization on campus it is sad how little money and thought was put toward our group by Senate…Needless to say there are going to be many disappointed teams.”
Chris Rutan, president of the Judo club, said, “I’m outraged that this is such an inequitable distribution of our student fees.”
The Alpine Club, which was allocated $36,370, was denied for its requested of an additional $10,000.
Kyle Peterson, vice president of the Alpine Club, said, “we appealed…because of an increase in membership and we wanted to make more spots available on trips… the membership level has more than doubled this year.”
The Forensics Team requested an additional $2,000 and received $1,000, bringing the group’s total to $4,150. The Non-Traditional/Transfer Students Organization, which was originally allocated $675, received an additional $830. Circle K International received an additional $1,050 to insure 30 more members at $30 per member. The group originally received $3,655, only enough funding to insure 25 members. Model United Nations received an additional $3,900 for a total allocation of $9,100.
The Senate allocated an additional $6,734 to itself, which was the remainder of the $61,514 that was left after last week’s allocations.
Vice President Marcus Hansen asked for the additional AUSA funding for the capital expenditures account. He said the money was important because it allows the Senate to better address student concerns that come up throughout the year.
Appeal requests were denied for the Society of Spanish Language, which received $3035, and the Arab Student Association, which received $5760.
Representatives from the Society of Spanish Language, Club Sports and Circle K International voiced concerns about the difficulties they had with the funding process and the unresponsiveness of their Senate representatives.
The Senate also heard concerns from Hatim al-Mandeel, an international student from Saudi Arabia, who said he “doesn’t feel comfortable living in the dorms” but can’t move out because of the binding housing contract all freshmen are required to sign.
He told the Senate that he has been “finding difficulties cooperating with students” since Sep. 11. Al-Mandeel said that he and some of his friends from Saudi Arabia have been discriminated against and called names.
Students may be released from housing contracts only for medical or financial reasons.
“Racial problems are not a good enough reason,” was the impression al-Mandeel received from the Department of Residence.
