If you’ve visited the Student Association office recently, you may have noticed a new addition to the normally sparse setting. The SA has recently purchased and installed a large flat panel plasma television screen in the reception area of the office.

The screen, which was purchased with money from the SA’s $32,000 “office fund,” displays CNN throughout the day.

“It cost $735 and has a five year warranty,” said Financial Vice President Richard Marmolejos. “We got it open box at Circuit City, so it was pretty cheap.”

According to Marmolejos, the office fund pays for anything from phone bills to office supplies.

The distribution of the $84.50 student activity fee — part of which comprises the office fund — is decided on by the Financial Council.

The SA has a total budget of $1,850,750.00. While the SA receives the $32,000 for the office fund, the office of the academic vice president has received essentially no funding this semester. In order to fund this year’s College Bowl, the office of the AVP had to borrow $800 from the Student Assembly that will have to be repaid out of the profits made from the Graduate Student Fair.

But members of the SA’s executive board insist that the addition of the screen benefits the entire student population.

SA president Michael Schiffman said the idea originally came from another screen currently in place in the lobby of the Glenn G. Bartle Library.

“I noticed it was attracting a huge number of people — especially when important things were happening,” he said. “We thought it would be a good idea to get for the SA.”

Schiffman said he felt it was important that students be aware of world affairs.

“I personally like to know what’s going on in the world,” he said. “I think it’s a very beneficial thing for students to be able to see, if they walk in to check their group’s mail or something, a headline on TV. It’s very easy to become sheltered here.”

Schiffman also hopes that in addition to serving as an educational tool, the new screen will help him to achieve his previously expressed goal of making the SA seem more accessible to students.

“After we got it we kind of realized that this would also help to draw students in,” he said. “Allowing students to sit down and get some work done while they’re in the SA office would be a good way to get people involved.”

Marmolejos added that he feels the greater presence of students in the office would help to increase the efficiency of the SA.

“We want people to come here because we’ve been having problems that could easily be prevented if these kids came to the office,” he said. ”No one ever comes here, no one ever knows important dates and no one ever knows what paperwork we need from them.”

He added that the SA has plans to revamp the reception area to increase student traffic.

“We’re fixing the lounge area to make it more accessible to students,” he said. “I think if we provided a little bit more of a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere people would be more apt to come here.”