On Tuesday, the ASUO Programs Finance Committee decreased more student groups’ 2002-03 budgets, including the Oregon Daily Emerald’s by $16,629.
The Emerald’s General Manager Judy Riedel said PFC had reduced the 2001-02 budget a year ago to about $120,000 as a trial to see if the newspaper could generate more money from advertising. Because of the state of the economy, this year the Emerald has lost many advertisers, she said. As a result, the Emerald has had to cut printing costs by printing smaller papers and using less color, she said. Decreasing next year’s budget from the $132,870 had PFC reinstated before the accounting error to $116,241 now “is like kicking us when we’re down,” she said.
PFC member Erin Pursell said the projected budget the Emerald had presented wasn’t based on concrete numbers, but rather it was based on
“previous amounts.”
The Multicultural Center’s budget dropped from $79,751 to $78,75. MCC Program Adviser Steve Morozumi urged PFC not to decrease MCC’s budget because “the MCC provides an indispensable and vital role on campus.”
He said the budget cut could keep MCC from bringing in well-known speakers like Amarai Baraka, who came to the University last month.
PFC member Nadia Hasan voted against the decrease. She said MCC is an umbrella organization for many other student groups, and a drop in allocation would affect a wide range of students.
PFC members discussed leaving Students of the Indian Subcontinent’s budget at the $5,435 originally voted on, but voted to decrease its budget to $5,206.
Pursell said she thought PFC should vote to reduce SIS’s budget. Because SIS is a new student group, there are no records of their spending habits, she said.
“I feel a certain section of groups are feeling targeted by the recalls,” she said. “It’s not really fair to all the groups that came before SIS. We need to continue to be consistent.”
PFC decided to drop the Minority Law Students Association’s budget to equal to what it received for 2001-02 — $1,616. The Native American Student Union received a decrease of $50 for a new budget of $19,659. The Oregon Marine Student Association’s budget was also reduced, from $4,795 to $3,296. PERMIAS’s budget was decreased from $5,433 to $4,290.
PFC decided not to decrease the Oregon Marching Band’s budget of $104,841. PFC members said OMB had spent money well in previous years.
PFC will hold another meeting Thursday at 8:30 a.m. to decide on further budget recall action.