The Programs Finance Committee may have broken new speed records in its Thursday meeting, approving seven student group budgets all before bedtime.
GLOSS, the student organization associated with the Department of Linguistics, had its budget of $626 approved, which was a 30.4 percent increase. The money will fund speakers for its Endangered Language Colloquia series.
PFC also voted unanimously to recall an account of the African Students Association’s budget to correct an accounting error.
The Committee for Musical Arts passed its budget in a record-breaking four minutes. It received the full amount of its proposal at $4,905, which was the exact same amount the group received last year.
Ben Hunter, a graduate student at the School of Music, discussed the committee’s mission.
“We bring world-class musicians from across the nation and across the world … at almost no cost to the students,” he said.
The Child Care Subsidy was next on the docket. The program is “an opportunity for student parents to get reimbursed for some of their childcare expense,” ASUO Senate President Ben Strawn said.
Its budget of $233, 472, a 1.19 percent decrease, was passed unanimously. The majority of the money directly subsidizes day care for the children of student parents who qualify.
Student parent Tanya Graves expressed her gratefulness for the program.
“I wouldn’t be able to go to school if it weren’t for the subsidy,” she said.
PFC passed the Hong Kong Student Association’s budget of $2,985 for a 24.1 percent increase. Its budget included funding for an annual sports day that the club puts on with other cultural organizations.
The Chinese Student Scholar Association’s budget of $3,196 was passed unanimously by PFC for a 5.6 percent increase. A substantial portion of the money will go to the group’s largest cultural event, a celebration for Chinese New Year.
The Arts Administration Student Forum’s representatives appeared visibly frustrated with the tedious PFC process, but its budget of $590 — a 0.5 percent increase — was passed without contest. The group said it had been haunted by past financial mishandling.
“Last year’s group wasn’t effective, financially or otherwise,” group representative Jessica Capitano said.
The Association of Anthropology Graduates had its budget of $300 approved unanimously for a 100 percent increase to fund speakers including anthropologist Dr. Bea Medicine.
The International Law Student Association rounded off the evening. The group’s budget had been previously tabled because of questions about the legitimacy of its fund-raising. The issue was settled and PFC unanimously voted to allocate the group $2,440 for a 105 percent increase. This new increase will fund a stipend for a summer editor for its law journal.