More than 25 supporters and staff members of KWVA flooded into the EMU Rogue Room on Monday night to petition the ASUO Programs Finance Committee for substantial funding increases.
Representatives for KWVA said the student-run campus radio station needed a boost in financial support because it is the only teaching ground available for students interested in broadcasting. KWVA general manager Charlotte Nisser said the radio station has about 200 student volunteers and has been in operation since 1993. Nisser argued for increases in several line items in KWVA’s budget, including music licensing, payroll, conferences and equipment repair.
Despite KWVA’s relentless lobbying, PFC members said they couldn’t afford to fully fund the station’s individual requests, which ranged from a 10 percent to 150 percent increase for some line items. The committee ultimately decided to award KWVA $75,072 for the 2003-04 school year, a 16.49 percent increase.
The Forensics Team also piled supporters into the small meeting room to show support for its program and its requested budget. Like KWVA, the Forensics Team petitioned PFC to grant their group with more funding — a 46 percent increase. Representatives for the group argued that forensics offers University students the opportunity to compete in debate tournaments around the state and country. But PFC members said they could not justify giving such a large jump in funding and ultimately decided to give the group a modest 14.39 percent increase and an overall budget of $28,404.
PFC members were treated to a younger crowd at one point in Monday’s meeting. The committee plodded ahead with business, despite the din caused by a handful of the Co-Op Family Center’s bored toddlers and examined the program’s budget for previous spending patterns. PFC ultimately decided to follow the ASUO Executive Recommendation and awarded the group $258,010 for 2003-04, a 1.86 percent increase.
The Jewish Student Union received the most severe funding cut Monday evening, because of unstable spending patterns. Committee members said the group had significant budget rollover in the last few years, and members said in spite of the increased initiative and fiscal responsibility JSU seemed to be showing, PFC decided to give the group $6,404 for 2003-04, a 27.46 percent decrease.
Representatives from the Career Center made a professional budget presentation to the PFC using a polished silver pointer and numerous bar graphs and line graphs. The group netted a budget of $210,325, an increase of 13.82 percent.
Two representatives from the University Ad Club, an extension of the American Advertising Federation, appeared at the group’s PFC budget hearing and received a budget of $6,895 for 2003-04, a decrease of 2.32 percent.
Three other programs funded by student incidental fees were given moderate increases at the meeting Monday night. The International Student Association received $20,072 for 2003-04, a 15.1 percent increase. PFC awarded the Ecological Design Center $18,432, an 8.49 percent increase. And PFC gave Conflict Resolution Services $49,559, an increase of 6.55 percent.
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