The Binghamton University Student Assembly passed the 2011-12 Student Association budget Monday night, after finalizing changes to the more than $700,000 that funds student groups.
The procedure for budget appeals underwent major changes this year. The changes were aimed at shortening the length of the annual budget meeting, which took more than 11 hours last year. Rather than being allowed to voice changes on the night of the meeting, Assembly representatives were required to submit appeals in advance.
One effect of these new procedures was to block the possibility of a motion to appeal the zero-dollar allocation given to Han Perspective, BU’s Korean and English magazine, after representatives from the group pleaded for additional fundraising during the public comment section at Monday’s meeting.
Stacey Kim, the co-editor-in-chief of Han Perspective, said that the group found the process of appealing its allocation impossible. According to her, Han Perspective was told to attend the April 4 Assembly meeting in order to plead its case for additional funding, but it was given the wrong room location by Vice President for Finance Adam Shamah.
“Looking through the budget spreadsheet, it wasn’t clear as to the distribution of money to the group. I don’t know why we got zero dollars,” Kim said. “I think it was sloppy how the vice president for finance handled the situation. The VPF has not been punctual in responding to emails, and in my personal dealings with him, he gave me false information. I expected more.”
Shamah said that, despite Kim’s claims, the current process did not allow for their appeal to be heard at the meeting.
The Assembly voted during the meeting to give Club Sports $123,000 for next year, $15,000 more than the $108,000 that Financial Council had originally allotted. The figure still represented a $5,000 cut to Club Sports, which was given $128,000 last year.
Mock Trial’s request for a $2,750 budget increase was denied, as was a motion made by representative Carlton Ramsay to increase African Student Organization’s budget from $5,700 to $9,700.
Representative Adam Slomko’s motion to increase Food Co-op’s budget by from $4,000 to $7,000, on the other hand, was initially approved by the Assembly. However, after Marisa Sweeney presented further arguments that the budget originally allocated Food Co-op by FinCo was appropriate, representatives voted to deny the appeal, reversing their previous decision in the meeting’s final moments.
The zero-dollar budget given by FinCo to New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) was also heavily debated.
Representative Diane Wong, who filed a motion to allocate NYPIRG $500, argued that the group had recently inspired passion within the BU student community and that it was time to restore SA financing to the group.
“We are having the worst press because of this,” representative Danielle Kutas said, referring to allegations made by NYPIRG that the SA’s attempts this semester to force the group to leave its office in the New University Union and to remove the group’s charter were ideologically motivated. “Students have a negative image of us.”
The Assembly ultimately voted down the appeal of NYPIRG’s budget, allocating the group no funding.
“NYPIRG would not give us any financial information,” SA Treasurer Justin Utegg said. “This has nothing to do with sour grapes. This is an intelligent financial decision.”