Despite missing two members, the ASUO Programs Finance Committee sailed through its first week of hearings, PFC chairwoman Mary Elizabeth Madden said.
PFC Senator Eddy Morales and elected member at-large Edwin Prasad resigned before hearings began on Monday, leaving five committee members to decide budgets for 29 ASUO programs this week.
The Malaysian Student Organization received the largest budget increase, jumping from $304 this year to $1,056 for 2002-03. Madden said the group had previously been de-funded, and the increase reflects a group rebuilding process. Most of the increase allocated will go toward the group’s culture night, she said.
PFC also nearly doubled the budget of the Criminal Law Association, bringing it up from $300 this year to $580 for next year. Madden said PFC felt the increase was justified because CLA, a first-year group, has managed its money well this year. The group plans to use the extra money to fund speakers’ fees and a competition registration fee, she said.
The Korean Student Association received the largest budget cut, falling from $2,545 for this year to $1,560 for next year — a decrease of nearly 40 percent. KSA members requested a $2,880 increase, but after examining the group’s previous spending and scheduled events, PFC members concluded the group had overestimated its expenses.
“To be honest, (the KSA budget) looks a little inflated,” PFC Programs Appointee Joe Streckert said at the Thursday night KSA hearing. “I hate to use that word, but it does.”
Members generally reached a consensus quickly, Madden said. None of the budgets presented this week exceeded $5,000. Three groups — AVENU, the Latin-American and Caribbean Students Organization, and the Taiwanese Student Organization — failed to submit a budget and were de-funded.
“These are all pretty small budgets. … There wasn’t a lot of controversy or dissent,” Madden said. “Next week will be quite different, I imagine.”
Hearings scheduled next week include MEChA, the Oregon Voice and the Survival Center on Monday. Tuesday’s hearing schedule includes the Oregon Marching Band as well as the International Resource Center, which is the first group previously funded by ballot measure to go before PFC. Groups scheduled for Thursday include the Oregon Commentator, the Student Bar Association and OSPIRG.
More PFC hearing schedule information is available online at www.dailyemerald.com.