The ASUO has around $200,000 in over-realized funds for students who have “big ideas” for campus. Earlier this year, the Jewish Student Union earmarked $65,000 from the fund to hire a headline act for a concert in the spring.
The committee dealing out the money now has an approximate timeline for how it will distribute funds. Two years ago, then-ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz used the fund to require less incidental fee money from students in spring term 2009. Because of an accounting error, this resulted in a deficit, and last year’s over-realized fund had to be used to make up for this deficit.
Before this, the money from the fund created by the effect of enrollment underestimations was usually given out to groups by Senate in a similar way to how the surplus is handed out. The surplus is created when student groups don’t use all the money allocated to them in their budget by the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30 of every year.
The form asks basic questions about the group or the people requesting money, followed by general questions about how the group would like to see the idea work out.
Students and groups requesting funds should submit their request forms at http://bit.ly/uobigideas by the deadline, Feb. 12 at 11:59 p.m.
The committee, chaired by ASUO Sen. Evan Thomas, will make its first cut and announce the applicants who will move on by Feb. 14 and hold hearings until Feb. 25.
At the March 2 ASUO Senate meeting, senators will choose to approve or veto the committee’s recommendations.
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