The Programs Finance Committee hit the halfway mark Thursday night as it finished the second week of budget hearings for more than 100 ASUO programs. The PFC approved budgets for eight groups and referred one group to a budget review committee for future discussion.
The PFC increased the budget for Sexual Assault Support Services by $3,356, which was the largest increase of the meeting.
“It’s quite a substantial increase,” PFC member Lawrence Gillespie said.
Gillespie said SASS can ask for more money again next year, and it should be able to operate efficiently with the funds it was allocated for 2001-02.
ASUO President Jay Breslow, who observed the budget hearing proceedings for SASS, spoke in favor of the motion to increase SASS’s events budget by $500.
“They haven’t had an increase in events in the past three years,” Breslow said.
Breslow said he supports SASS because it is one of the few programs that saves lives and aids victims of sexual assault. The PFC granted SASS the additional $500.
The campus magazine, the Oregon Voice, requested fewer funds than it was allocated last year. But it still received an increase of $40 because of the costs associated with a new stipend model implemented this year. Many students in ASUO groups are paid monthly stipends, and these amounts have differed among programs in the past. But this year, the PFC is standardizing these amounts for all groups, which has meant higher pay for some positions.
The Vietnamese Student Association received an increase of $1,433, but members of the group said they plan to appeal the decision because the increase will not cover their costs for winter term activities.
“We feel our Winter Event is important, and we wanted more money for it,” VSA co-director Tran Quach said. “They didn’t give us enough money to have an effective event.”
The PFC referred the Panhellenic Council’s budget to a three-person budget review committee. The group must add clarification about ticket sales, financial disclosure of additional funding and goal statements for programs such as Select 2000 to its budget proposal before its budget can be approved.