Recently, Student Union released a preliminary budget proposal to determined the budgets for many student groups. Outlining a new philosophy for deciding which groups should receive money, Student Union Treasurer Marius Johnson has proposed to cut funding from executive committee student groups and redistribute it to smaller groups and special student initiatives. While we are pleased that he is mindful of the need to spend SU funds wisely, we must disagree with the budget cuts that he has proposed.
The proposed Student Union General Budget for 2007-2008 outlines some drastic funding changes for executive committee student groups. KWUR, the student-run campus radio station, would receive $30,000 compared to this year’s $50,000 allocation. WUTV, the student run campus television station, would receive $16,440 compared to this year’s $42,500 allocation. The Gargoyle is set to receive only $31,000 compared to the $54,250 that they acquired from their original allocation and subsequent appeals. Other affected organizations include Team 31 ($225,000, down from $240,000 this year), Campus Programming Council ($97,080, down from $111,000) and Filmboard ($5,380, down from $6,500).
A new appeals process will also be established. Any of the above student groups can appeal their allocations, so their preliminary numbers can potentially increase. Composed of Student Union executives and treasury representatives, this executive appeals process will allow executive committee student groups to appeal for additional funds; no such option was previously available to these groups. This new appeals fund will initially hold $50,000 with the potential of increasing the fund should it run dry prematurely. Student Union President Neil Patel has stated, however, that even though the new appeals fund will be flexible, there will need to be funding cuts for many executive committee groups. Student Union hopes that this new appeals committee will ensure financial accountability in the executive committee groups while also quickly distributing needed funding appeals to them.
So where will the money from these funding cuts go? It will primarily go towards the funding pool for treasury appeals and smaller Category I student groups. These are student groups that require a budget of more than $500 and have demonstrated that they fill a distinct need on campus.
Predictably, the affected executive committee student groups have vehemently disagreed with these proposed cuts. Benjamin Nanes, the general manager of WUTV, has stated that the station cannot even cover its operating costs without asking for budget appeals. He believes that forcing WUTV to appeal for additional funds will give SU improper veto power over day-to-day operations. The WUTV budget cut is the most egregious, and we believe that it deserves to be reconsidered.
Taylor Hermes, the Social Chair and Chief Engineer of KWUR, questions the logic of cutting funding from groups that benefit the entire campus. “We’re going to have a more difficult time providing services to the Wash. U. community,” said Hermes. Since the technical costs of running a radio station are very expensive, he believes it will be difficult to maintain FCC standards for the station. Additionally, KWUR will have to take on additional costs due to a recent copyright decision that requires radio Web sites to pay royalties for streaming content over the internet.
Elizabeth Ochoa, president of Filmboard, argues that the funding cuts will leave them unable to continue their hugely successful movie premiere nights.
A Gargoyle spokesperson stated that the funding cuts will hinder their ability to keep up with equipment repairs amidst new insurance expenses for music artists. This will affect other groups that use the Gargoyle and its sound equipment for their own events, such as the Pride Alliance’s Drag Show.
We have long believed that Student Union should attempt to use fiscal discipline to rein in unnecessary student group spending. Every student must pay a $345 Student Activity Fee that funds student groups on campus, and it is perfectly reasonable for them to expect that the money will be doled out responsibly. We also believe that many large student groups could stand to trim excess waste from their budgets.
But while we agree with the motivation behind Student Union’s actions in principle, we cannot support their proposed budget cuts. The affected executive committee student groups have demonstrated that they fill distinct niches on campus for large numbers of students. They consequently deserve to receive budgets that satisfactorily allow them to provide quality services to the campus community.
They also deserve a certain level of autonomy when it comes to making their own financial decisions. They know their own group budgets quite well, and Student Union should respect the ability of all of these groups to assess their own needs. WUTV and KWUR in particular have a detailed technical knowledge of their own operations, and they will have a good idea of what they need to successfully function. None of these options will be available under Student Union’s proposed cuts.
Additionally, we believe it is neither fair nor logical for money to be taken away from these executive committee groups to fund smaller groups that do not serve large numbers of students. These large groups provide popular services to the entire campus, whereas most Category I groups do not.
Since Student Union has conveyed that they want to focus more on smaller student groups, we would also ask that they take care when doling out funds to them. Not every student group can receive the money that they ask for and certain traditional student group budgets must surely be reevaluated.
But every dollar spent on smaller student groups must be used wisely. For example, Student Union currently funds an excessively large number of a cappella groups. A brief survey of a cappella groups on campus will turn up After Dark, the Amateurs, the Aristocrats, the Greenleafs, More Fools than Wise, Mosaic Whispers, the Pikers, STAAM, and the Stereotypes. Ordinarily, the large number of a cappella groups would be a benefit. But considering that most of them fill the same niche on campus, and considering the funding cuts to large student groups, Student Union must make sure that it is judiciously funding groups that serve an important and distinct function on campus.
As they say, money does not grow on trees. We commend the new Student Union executives for recognizing this and committing to cutting back on unnecessary spending. But we also believe that many of the proposed funding cuts are excessive, unnecessary and improper. We want a more responsible treasury, but we don’t want to significantly harm important student groups in the process.
Student Union President Neil Patel recommends that students with qualms about the plan should attend treasury meetings this Tuesday and Wednesday to voice their concerns. We recommend that every student seriously consider this advice and we urge the Student Union Senate and Treasury to amend the budget accordingly.