Board affirms EMU budget
The EMU Board of Directors approved the EMU’s 2004-05 budget at its meeting Wednesday, sending it to the ASUO Student Senate for approval next week. The $3,569,746 budget is an increase of 4.76 percent from 2003-04, but is less than the board’s 4.8 percent benchmark.
“The process that the budget committee followed was very good and very thorough,” EMU Board Chairwoman Christa Shively said.
The budget, which had been recalled to allow the board to reconsider how it calculates reserve funds, passed by a vote of 13-0. It includes funds for renovating the Outdoor Program’s barn roof and allowed the board to change how it will pay for the remodel of 71 EMU, a large office vacated by a branch of the University Child Care and Development Centers.
The board also debated a new policy on the allocation of space for publication distribution. After much discussion, the board decided to delay approval of the policy for another week to allow time to “wordsmith” it.
As the policy currently reads, it puts forth a set of criteria for how the board will determine whether a publication is “suitable” for distribution within the EMU. Among these criteria are the availability of space for the publication’s distribution needs, whether the publication is relevant to students and whether it presents a different perspective from publications already distributed in the EMU.
The policy states that all publications must comply with the Student Conduct Code and other relevant University policies, but specifies that the board “shall not consider the message of the publication.”

— Chuck Slothower

Senate approves extra funds for Campus Recycling
The ASUO Student Senate approved special requests from Campus Recycling, the Chinese Student Scholar Association and the Vietnamese Student Association in a one-hour meeting Wednesday.
Campus Recycling requested $16,477 for a small electric-powered utility truck and trailer to add to its fleet of vans. Operations Recycling Coordinator Jim Fleck said the electric-powered vehicle is better than a gas-powered vehicle.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that it’d be cheaper than a gas-powered vehicle,” he said.
Program Manager Karyn Kaplan added that the new vehicle would also be safer and emission-free.
The program has also seen increased requests for special-events recycling, for which a smaller vehicle is generally necessary.
ASUO Senate President Ben Strawn said the purchase of an environmentally friendly vehicle is in line with Campus Recycling’s mission and goals statement, but “asking them to purchase a gas-powered vehicle probably isn’t.”
Sen. Kevin Day motioned to make the transfer. The funds were taken from the over-realized fund, and the motion was approved unanimously.
The Chinese Student Scholar Association had little difficulty obtaining an additional $142 for its programming account. The motion passed 12-0 with one abstention.
The Vietnamese Student Association requested $1,095 for food for Vietnamese Culture Night.
The Senate eventually decided to transfer $982 from surplus to the group’s food-holding account. The difference will be covered by a transfer from the group’s fall event account.