The Associated Students, Inc. approved a proposal Wednesday to reduce funding for campus clubs and organizations by 50 percent in response to recent budget cuts.
Senators voted three separate times before the motion finally passed with a two-thirds majority. Although the reduction will not be put into effect until the item goes through proper channels, organizations seeking funding from ASI will now only receive up to $2,000 per academic year, as opposed to the $4,000 offered in previous years. The maximum of $6,000 for single event funding for organizations, however, was not cut.
This year, ASI is grappling with the shortfall handed down from the multi-million dollar reduction in the university budget. With a $20,000 line-item reduction and with recent enrollment figures pointing toward a reduction in tuition-based funding, ASI members say that they will have to act more fiscally conservative to meet the needs of student clubs and organizations.
“We are dealing with a much smaller pot of money this year,â€Â said ASI vice president of finance Lauren Johnson. “We want to make sure the money benefits as many clubs as possible.â€Â
During the two-hour meeting, opponents of the cut said it would disproportionately impact clubs who receive the bulk of their funding from ASI and limit diversity in the allocation of funding, while supporters said the reduction would aid in spreading out funds to the greatest amount of clubs.
“It is a good idea, but it is also a slap in the face for organizations we’ve funded in the past and then cut it in half the next semester — it is a huge change,â€Â said ASI senate member Jamie San Andres. “I would rather see diversity in the allocation of funding rather than progressive cuts.â€Â
Senator Robert Peugh disagreed saying that encouraging clubs to come together promotes diversity.
Likewise, Johnson said that reducing the amount of club funding would encourage clubs to collaborate with one another to put on single events. “We have a lot of clubs on campus with similar interests,â€Â Johnson said.
According to Johnson, there is no particular pattern to how many organizations ask for supplemental funding each semester, except that a handful of clubs stage the same events each year.
There are more than 200 student organizations registered with the Division of Student Affairs, and of that, many applied for funding for the 2008-09 school year.
“It is first come first serve,â€Â Johnson said. “It’s going to be really competitive this year.â€Â
Still, some senators were concerned with how funds would be appropriated, as deep cuts to higher education have spared no expense at California State University, Fresno this semester.
“[The cuts] are not a strike against clubs, but the student body will hold us accountable if we just go over our budget,â€Â Peugh said. “We will be no better than the government if we do, so we have to work with what we have.â€Â
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SJCL Law student • Sep 22, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Im glad im not a student at this university. First of all, the financial books should have been requested open with the compliance of the VP of finance long ago. This Collegian office should be there to witness and document all of it rather than report false stories on intoxicated professors, which also goes to show the public how incompetent even the Campus Newspaper Editor in Chief is.
Students should also question the legality of the moves made by the Execs and certain members of the senate. It almost seems as though the Execs have an overwhelmingly huge amount of power over the Senate, possibly some puppets on thier side. This is usually done in CSU student governments across the state. Execs get thier friends to “sit in” on such senate positions only to vote in favor of the agenda set forth by the Student Execs.
Then there is the question of the agenda set forth by the Student Execs. It doesnt seem as the execs to this campus have any real critical thinking skills, and if they do, they use it only to their personal benefit. Rest assured there is an agenda set forth among the student government and it sure does not seem to be coming from the Student execs either. It is coming from a higher position such as the administration. There also need to be someone looking into the “behind closed doors” meetings that happen between the University President and the Student execs. What secret promises are made? Scholarships? Full paid tuition? The highly valued letter of recommendation from the University President?
Students should mass assemble as it is thier right and engage in what your university is known best for…..LAWSUITS??? Students should consider a “CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT” against their own student government. That is right, sue your own student government, as im sure they have violated more than half their own “CONFLICT OF INTEREST” ByLaws. And if you need legal counsel come over to our campus, we know what is really going on out there on your campus, you students just need to wake up before your campus becomes so expensive that its nearly an “ALL WHITE” – or “ALL WHO PRETEND TO BE WHITE” campus.
So much for diversity. And if they try to take it away…..LAWSUIT, LAWSUIT, LAWSUIT
SJCL Law student • Sep 23, 2009 at 6:03 am
Im glad im not a student at this university. First of all, the financial books should have been requested open with the compliance of the VP of finance long ago. This Collegian office should be there to witness and document all of it rather than report false stories on intoxicated professors, which also goes to show the public how incompetent even the Campus Newspaper Editor in Chief is.
Students should also question the legality of the moves made by the Execs and certain members of the senate. It almost seems as though the Execs have an overwhelmingly huge amount of power over the Senate, possibly some puppets on thier side. This is usually done in CSU student governments across the state. Execs get thier friends to “sit in” on such senate positions only to vote in favor of the agenda set forth by the Student Execs.
Then there is the question of the agenda set forth by the Student Execs. It doesnt seem as the execs to this campus have any real critical thinking skills, and if they do, they use it only to their personal benefit. Rest assured there is an agenda set forth among the student government and it sure does not seem to be coming from the Student execs either. It is coming from a higher position such as the administration. There also need to be someone looking into the “behind closed doors” meetings that happen between the University President and the Student execs. What secret promises are made? Scholarships? Full paid tuition? The highly valued letter of recommendation from the University President?
Students should mass assemble as it is thier right and engage in what your university is known best for…..LAWSUITS??? Students should consider a “CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT” against their own student government. That is right, sue your own student government, as im sure they have violated more than half their own “CONFLICT OF INTEREST” ByLaws. And if you need legal counsel come over to our campus, we know what is really going on out there on your campus, you students just need to wake up before your campus becomes so expensive that its nearly an “ALL WHITE” – or “ALL WHO PRETEND TO BE WHITE” campus.
So much for diversity. And if they try to take it away…..LAWSUIT, LAWSUIT, LAWSUIT
Poor ag worker • Sep 22, 2009 at 10:25 pm
What the hell….Lauren Johnson is pocketing money now i think….How do you cut club funding by %50 percent? She has too much power to just cut things in half. What happens to the student money. Is this crap permanently binding?
If it is some students better raise hell cause that means next year they will take that money that originally went to clubs and spent it on beer, facny hotels and trips to see Charels Reed in Long Beach.
Poor ag worker • Sep 23, 2009 at 5:25 am
What the hell….Lauren Johnson is pocketing money now i think….How do you cut club funding by %50 percent? She has too much power to just cut things in half. What happens to the student money. Is this crap permanently binding?
If it is some students better raise hell cause that means next year they will take that money that originally went to clubs and spent it on beer, facny hotels and trips to see Charels Reed in Long Beach.
Jared Harper • Sep 15, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Like i said “or” the lingo she used is business talk for ” i F**ed up” and its best to admit that.
Jared Harper • Sep 16, 2009 at 4:03 am
Like i said “or” the lingo she used is business talk for ” i F**ed up” and its best to admit that.
or • Sep 14, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I suspect it might also have something to do with the CSU’s decision to cut enrollment numbers by 20% across the system at the end of last semester, and Fresno State’s decision to not admit any new students for the spring 2010 semester… which means a substantial reduction in money asi receives since that money comes from student fees
or • Sep 14, 2009 at 7:14 pm
I suspect it might also have something to do with the CSU’s decision to cut enrollment numbers by 20% across the system at the end of last semester, and Fresno State’s decision to not admit any new students for the spring 2010 semester… which means a substantial reduction in money asi receives since that money comes from student fees
Jared Harper • Sep 11, 2009 at 3:14 pm
“It is first come first serve,â€Â Johnson said. “It’s going to be really competitive this year.â€Â
This is Business lingo for “i F^*% up, i did’nt do the math right” it is also another excuse lingo for “The money is been pocketed by other so called expenses” way to go Lauren, You just did the students wrong again.
Jared Harper • Sep 11, 2009 at 10:14 pm
“It is first come first serve,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be really competitive this year.”
This is Business lingo for “i F^*% up, i did’nt do the math right” it is also another excuse lingo for “The money is been pocketed by other so called expenses” way to go Lauren, You just did the students wrong again.