Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Campus News

The Student Senate Finance Commission has recommended allocating about $3.5 million of student segregated fees in the last week to organized activities, according to finance deliberation notification e-mails from commission director Sen. Dylan Jambrek.

For the 2010-2011 fiscal budget, Student Health Services is slated to receive the highest allocation, at about $1.2 million, while the American Choral Directors Association and Collegiate Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Education are listed for the lowest amount at $300 each, according to the e-mails. Other organizations include:

- Student Senate General Operations Budget: $122,000

- University Activities Commission: $81,000

- Forensics: $60,000

- CASE: $57,000

- The Spectator: $12,000

- WAGE: $10,000

- The Flip Side: $7,500

The commission voted down the applications of two organizations that applied, English Fest and Student Radio Initiative.

SRI faculty advisor and physics professor Erik Hendrickson said the group requested $7,000 this year and had received $6,000 in the previous year. The year before that, SRI received $14,000.

"We were asking to kind of get back up to where we have been in previous years," he said.

Twenty-five to 30 students work as DJ's for the Internet radio station, Hendrickson said. On average, 10 to 20 people are listening at any time. According to the e-mails, the low listenership was one of the contributing factors to the allocation recommended.

Hendrickson said SRI plans to appeal to the commission, an opportunity which is offered to all organizations who did not receive their requested amount.

Appeals to the Finance Commission have to be submitted by Nov. 11, according to the Organized Activities Budget Development Procedure and Calendar.

Academic affairs director and member of the Finance Commission Adam Sorelle said in the past, they've given budgets 3 percent inflation, and if an activity had an increased request, it was considered on a case-by-case basis. This year, however, they tried to stay within one to two percent inflation.

"We tried to be more conservative because of the other increases that we know that students will have to feel," Sorelle said, citing the economic downturn as another reason.

The Finance Commission will consider appeals until Nov. 8, according to the calendar. Their recommendations will be submitted to Student Senate in January 2010. During the spring semester, the budget will go through the administration, reaching the UW System Board of Regents in June. The release of the approved budgets is also scheduled for June.

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