Fifteen campus organizations, programs, clubs and departments presented their case for funding necessities at the Associated Students, Inc. meeting on April 9. The meeting took up the full two hours of allotted time granted to ASI meetings.

At the start of the meeting, two public commenters spoke to the senate about campus issues.

One of the speakers was Shawna Blair, a program coordinator at Student Involvement, who spoke about the impact that ASI has on the student body.

Blair was also a representative for Student Involvement’s presentations later in the meeting.

“Every decision that you’re going to make today about funding goes far beyond this room,” Blair said. “I challenge you today [to] think big, think boldly and most of all, think with heart.”

Maria Acevedo, a third-year student living in the dorms, discussed her dissatisfaction with the current campus housing.

“They gave a priority to freshmen instead of us, and I just think that’s unfair,” Acevedo said.

Before the budget call began, Vice President of Finance Guadalupe Zamudio Telles informed the senate of the funds that they are able to disperse.

“Our baseline is trying not to go over $70,000, because that’s what our current budget can fully allow,” Zamudio Telles said.

Throughout the budget call, Zamudio Telles kept the senate updated about how much money they have spent and how much they have left to give.

The below listed data is according to documents provided by ASI.

The pleas

The campus entities and their requested amounts are as follows, in order of the meeting agenda:

• The Biology Department requested $1,250 for resources aiding the Plant Disease Ecology Lab course.
• The Department of Art, Design, Art History requested $49,949 for technology upgrades.
• The Office of the Provost Sustainability Projects requested $4,800 for sustainability projects.
• The Office of the Provost requested $8,850 for the Geology Club to receive field gear and equipment repairs.
• The Media, Communications and Journalism Department requested $19,000 for support of their TV studio supplies.
• The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology requested $10,000 to support student housing on Fresno State’s farm.
• The Maddy Institute requested $12,500 to award five students a scholarship of $2,500 and to aid a legislative internship.
• The Student Recreation Center requested $8,800 to purchase more equipment to accommodate more students.
• The Student Health and Counseling Center requested $2,500 to add baby wipes to the free diaper program offered through the
• Parent Scholar Initiative.
• The Student Health and Counseling Center requested $5,200 for food options at the Wellness Retreat.
• The Student Health and Counseling Center requested $12,000 for more resources to be made available in the Wellness Vending Machine on campus.
• Student Involvement requested $25,000 for aid in funding homecoming.
• Student Involvement requested $25,000 for aid in Vintage Days funding.
• Student Involvement requested $28,500 to offer more resources to commuter students through the Off-Campus Student Life (OCSL) program.
• The Earth and Environmental Sciences Department requested $5,525 for a multispectral camera setup.
• The Collegian appealed the last budget call and requested $4,700 for camera equipment.

In total, each of these fund requests comes out to $223,574 which is approximately $153,574 above the previously declared $70,000 limit. The original document provided by ASI claimed that the total was $57,310, however.

The ASI finance committee provided a recommended sum of money for each organization.

It was up to the senate to decide whether the full requested amount should be granted, or the amount suggested by ASI.

The results

After the senate deliberated, $69,310 was granted to the organizations listed above.

This leaves $690 leftover to ASI.

The results are listed here:

• The Biology Department: $1,250
• The Department of Art, Design, Art History: $5,000
• The Office of the Provost for Sustainability: $1,400
• The Office of the Provost for the Geology Club: $3,000
• The Media, Communications and Journalism Department: $5,000
• The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology: $10,000
• The Maddy Institute: $2,500
• The Student Recreation Center: $2,460
• The Student Health and Counseling Center for the Parent Scholar Initiative: $2,500
• The Student Health and Counseling Center for the Wellness Retreat: $5,200
• The Student Health and Counseling Center for the Wellness Vending Machine: $12,000
• Student Involvement for homecoming: $6,000
• Student Involvement for Vintage Days: $5,000
• Student Involvement for OCSL: $5,000
• The Earth and Environmental Sciences Department: $3,000
• The Collegian: $0

Then, the meeting continued with executive reports, where Vice President of External Affairs Marco Flores discussed his recent attendance at the California State Student Association (CSSA) virtual plenary meeting.

“We worked with other ASI leaders across the California State University (CSU) to discuss issues that are on our campuses, as well as legislative affairs [and] system-wide affairs from the board of directors,” Flores said.

He also said that ASI President Faith Van Hoven will be attending the CSSA executive board elections this weekend.

After the reports concluded, the meeting was adjourned.

The applications for budget call closed on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Further information is available on the ASI website.