A committee that divides the $35 per-term student activities fee between nine campus organizations decided to triple the money given to the Class Councils and cut the Student Assembly's budget by almost a third.
Yesterday the Undergraduate Finance Committee made recommendations to Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia about how to allocate the $430,000 raised annually by the student activities fee.
Sateia said she will honor the committee's recommendations. "It's very hard in the 1990s," Sateia said. "People want more and more and we have less and less to do it with. I think [the committee] did a good job this year."
The Class Councils will receive $9,000 to be divided among the four councils. Last year they received $3,000 from the UFC. The Class Councils provide programming for the class, promote class unity and deal with policy issues related to the class.
Last Fall, Junior Class President Tim Rodenberger said the Class Councils needed more funding to have "a purpose and presence on campus."
He said more money would allow the councils to program events for students, and suggested taking money away from the Assembly, which he said did not serve the programming needs of the community.
"On both an institutional and a personal level, I regard this as a major win," he said. "Hopefully in coming years the student activities fee will now be used to serve students more effectively within the purpose of that fee."
Each Class Council also receives approximately $5000 a year which represents a portion of a $20 fee collected from each freshman. This money is distributed to the Class Council evenly over four years.
The UFC gives money to the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council, Class Councils, the Council on Student Organizations, Dartmouth College Athletic Department, The Hopkins Center, the Programming Board, the Office of Residential Life, Student Assembly and the Office of Student Life.
One representative from each group serves on the UFC.
Last fall, each group made a presentation to the UFC requesting funds, and a majority vote of the committee determined the final appropriations. Groups receive their funding in July.
Bob Bordone '94, who is the Programming Board's representative on the UFC, said almost every group requested more funds this year.
"There was a lot of debate," Bordone said. "There were a lot of good reasons why everyone should have gotten an increase in funding ... The committee really did almost a line-item approach to see where students got the most bang for their buck."
The UFC decided to cut the Assembly's budget from $44,800 to $30,000.
"The Assembly decision was difficult," Bordone said. "Some of the things they had on their budget were a little overpriced, and the sense of the committee was they could be dispensed with or decreased in other ways."
Assembly President Nicole Artzer '94, who sat on the UFC, said the budget cut did not upset her.
"I feel good about the money being taken away. It's going to things we spend a lot of time trying to achieve," Artzer said. "In a round-about way we found a way to serve the students."
As an example, she said the increase in money to the Class Councils will provide more social options for students, something the Assembly strives for.
Artzer, who said the Assembly actually requested a slight decrease in funds this year, said the Assembly will have to be more frugal with their money next year.
"I'm disappointed only because we cannot help other student groups," she said. "I think it helps to build a network ... but nevertheless I think co-sponsoring doesn't have to be monetary."
The UFC increased funding for the CFSC from $1,500 to $5,000 to help houses pay for door monitors to enforce the alcohol policy, Bordone said.
The Programming Board will receive $214,320, nearly one-half of the money collected from the student activities fee.
Bordone said the Programming Board is happy with the amount it was allocated but added that student demand for more programming in the new Collis Center may require the Programming Board to request more money in the future.
The UFC also allocated $51,600 to COSO, $65,000 to the athletic department, $18,500 to The Hop, $25,400 to ORL and $7,900 to the Office of Student Life .
The UFC also authorized a one-time payment of $3,280 to COSO for additional equipment.
Usually, the committee keeps a $10,000 buffer to fund special projects during the year, but Bordone said the committee decided there were just too many requests that deserved funding.
