Next year’s funding allocated to Student Assembly dropped to $40,000 from this year’s allocation of $58,000, the UFC announced Tuesday. The committee said in a press release that some of the assembly’s proposals “were not in the spirit of the Student Activities Fee.”
The UFC, which distributes funding for the Council on Student Organizations, Programming Board and seven other major campus organizations, released its allocations decisions yesterday based on a total budget of $1,045,000 that is derived from student activities fees.
This year’s budget is slightly larger than last year’s, which was $1,020,000.
The UFC approved $313,500 for Programming Board, which organizes social events and brings concerts to campus, $272,500 for the Council on Student Organizations, an umbrella organization that oversees around 160 student groups, and $146,500 for the Special Programs and Events Committee, which allocates funding to student groups needing $5,000 or more.
The Collis Governing Board, which coordinates Collis activities like entertainment in One Wheelock, received $82,500, while the Dartmouth Outing Club got $42,700 and the Greek Leadership Council $42,500. Club sports received $41,000 and Student Assembly $40,000. The UFC gave Class Council $32,000 and the bonfire committee $31,800.
UFC chair Eli Derrow ’15 said the organizations’ proposals were consistent with those of past years.
Current Assembly president Casey Dennis ’15 said that although he and vice president Frank Cunningham ’16 were disappointed by the smaller allocation, the Assembly remains committed to fulfilling its goals.
Dennis said that the Assembly may work with other groups on campus to get additional funding.
Cunningham said that over the next few weeks, he and Dennis will begin to decide how to divide up the reduced budget.
“We are going to look to accomplish our goals in any way possible, despite the budget provided,” Dennis said. “Obviously it’s a bump in the road, but we are optimistic.”
The 2013-14 Assembly ended its term with a surplus of $35,000, all of which came from its UFC allocation, Dennis said, adding that the surplus likely played a role in the UFC’s decision to decrease funding to the Assembly this year.
The Assembly proposed transferring this remaining funding to the GLC as part of a program that would provide scholarships to GLC organizations as an incentive for their members to undergo Dartmouth Bystander Initiative training. The UFC denied the transfer.
Derrow said that UFC funding is meant for open events on campus, like a speech sponsored by a COSO organization or a campus-wide barbecue.
Organizations like the GLC or COSO, which include some exclusive groups, may only use UFC-allocated funding for events open to all of campus, according to Derrow.
Collis Center director Eric Ramsey, who advises the UFC, said organizations vary slightly each year in their funding requests.
The DOC saw the largest funding increase, at about 31 percent.
DOC vice president Jocelyn Powelson ’14 said she believes the jump in funding results from the organization’s proven efficiency.
“Our mindset is for budgeting,” Powelson said. “We are trying to spend as efficiently as possible.”
Increasing interest in DOC programming following new scholarships from the President’s Office may have also influenced the UFC’s decision to allocate greater funding to the DOC, Powelson said.
The GLC policy implemented last fall, which prevented freshmen from entering Greek houses in the weeks prior to Homecoming, led more freshman to participate in DOC programs during the fall and fostered lasting, higher levels of interest among freshmen throughout the year, Powelson said.
The UFC’s allocation for club sports leaped nearly 8 percent.
Joann Brislin, associate athletic director for club sports and intramurals, said the majority of UFC funding for club sports pays for uniforms, equipment and tournament entry fees.
Dartmouth club sports requested a new “safe travel fund” this year that would have been used to rent buses, not minivans, for teams traveling long distances or in bad weather, Brislin said.
The UFC rejected the proposal, calling it an inappropriate allocation of the student activities fee.
Dennis and Cunningham released their funding proposal in a campus-wide email on May 7. Cunningham said they released the proposal to promote transparency, per their campaign platform.
“Nothing is going to stop us from being transparent because that’s what we promised the body that elected us,” he said. “They have a right to know what we are doing.”
Dennis said that the decision to make the budget proposal available to the student body led to student feedback which he said will be important in the Assembly’s future plans.
Derrow said that the Assembly’s decision to publish its proposal will not necessarily lead other organizations to do so. While the Assembly can release their own budget for transparency, Derrow said, other organizations may have reasons preventing them from releasing their full budgets.
“I feel like it’s SA’s prerogative to give their budget as transparency,” he said. “I would leave it up to the individual groups because certain organizations can’t release their full budgets for one reason or another.”
The UFC is composed of 11 at-large members, nine organizational representatives, a secretary and two non-voting advisors.
Ramsey said he was impressed by the passion and persistence of members’ advocacy.
“I’ve always been amazed at the thoughtfulness and dedication the members have, that the fee is best utilized in the tight budget and competing priorities that they work with,” he said. “These are really difficult decisions.”
