Finance Board budget recommendations are spurring student organizations to begin toying with ideas of how to make up for the lost dollars.

Andrew Urankar, comptroller, said he urges student organizations to consider applying for shares in the $90,000 available in special programming funds.

‘The Finance Board will be giving preference to groups who we previously denied funding – the groups on campus that provide a service to the university that the university needs,’ Urankar said.

Urankar said this would include groups such as Students Advocating Sexual Safety and Empowerment, Hillel and College Republicans.

Maggie Mistzal, former comptroller, said the rollover fund is comprised of leftover money in the accounts of student organizations at the end of the year that the groups can request money from.

‘All this money was at one point from the student activity fee,’ Urankar said.

Mistzal said the special programming fund was set up in October, but this is the first time organizations will able to apply for money from this fund.

‘Nobody’s used it to date,’ she said.

While Urankar said there is $190,000 sitting in the special programming fund, the Finance Board only plans to allocate $90,000 of it. The reason for this is to sustain the account as a viable rollover fund.

Jessica Larsen, president of SASSE, said she was unaware the special programming fund applied to her organization.

‘If it’s another way we can get money for programming,’ she said, ‘then yeah, I’ll look into it.’

Adam Gorode, co-chair of Univeristy Union Concerts, said he already has some of the paperwork ready to apply for the special programming funds.

‘We are going to exhaust every possibility to get money,’ he said.

Gorode said he talks to Urankar daily to stay up-to-date on when applications for special programming funds will be available.

‘We’re going to be first in line,’ Gorode said.

The Caribbean Students Association received a recommendation of zero dollars for the Bob Marley Tribute Weekend Concert that occurred this weekend.

Andrea Skerritt, president of CSA, said she believed since the event they were requesting money for already happened, the Finance Board decided not to fund them.

‘We’re left with nothing,’ Skerritt said. ‘We’re really upset. We’ve been really successful – not on the scale of larger groups.’

Skerritt said she had hoped the organization could have put on another event this semester since the Finance Board could not fund the Bob Marley Tribute Concert in time.

‘There’s not enough money to go around,’ she said. ‘The option of a concert is done.’

She also said CSA hopes to collaborate with other groups to put on future events, including the annual end-of-the-year party they put on.

‘We didn’t see validation in having that cut,’ she said.

Skerritt also said applying for money from the special programming fund is an option for the organization.

‘Any money we can get,’ she said. ‘We’re going to apply for.’

Billy Kim, president of the Korean American Students Association, said he was satisfied with the recommendation for the organization.

‘We didn’t ask for a lot of money,’ he said.

KASA requested $1,571.58 for a Korean Culture Show in April and received a recommendation for $1,220.25. Kim said the request was mostly for technical costs.

‘The money for advertising is going to have to come out of our own pockets,’ Kim said. ‘I’m unhappy about it but there’s nothing we can do about it. We have to learn from our mistakes.’

Kim said KASA is going to try to apply for diversity grants and other means of funding.

‘We’re going to try to not depend solely on SA,’ he said.

Kim also said he does not think KASA will apply for special programming funds because he does not think the Finance Board would give them any more money.

‘I think if anything we’re OK,’ Kim said. ‘We’re going to try to make the best of what we have.’

Published on February 8, 2005 at 12:00 pm