Kicking off the budget season, the ASUO Programs Finance Committee approved the budgets of nine student groups, granting the greatest amounts of funds to Ethos Magazine and the Assault Prevention Shuttle.
Ethos Magazine, a multicultural, student-run magazine, asked for about $11,000 to cover half of the cost of printing for the year. Adjunct Professor Dan Morrison spoke on behalf of the publication and said the publication has aided in raising the prestige of the School of Journalism and Communication.
Members of the PFC were torn by the request, as Ethos has notoriously come to the Senate seeking surplus money in order to meet printing costs. Sen. Nick Schultz said groups tended to rely on PFC requests to solve problems.
Ultimately, the PFC approved a budget of $7,600 for Ethos in a vote of 3-2-1.
“I don’t think it’s the optimal solution, but it is moving in the right direction. I don’t think our model or the Executive model gives us the answer,” Schultz said. “I think the PFC made the right decision. It was a great compromise.”
Sen. Lyzi Diamond, who voted against the growth request, pointed out that PFC gave Ethos Magazine $2,300 in its first year, which is exceptionally more than the $300 typically given to start-up programs.
“It doesn’t happen all that fast,” Diamond said during the meeting. “I think the number is too high. If we approve this, we have to think about what we’re not going to fund. We’re getting down to comparing how one program affects campus more than another program. Every program has dedicated members, and every program works their butts off.”
PFC granted APS the remainder of the funds it requested last year, amounting to $3,300. The amount allows APS to hire an additional dispatcher and operate more vans over the weekends.
One of the reasons APS presenters requested funds is that the shuttle still has to turn away 23 percent of people who call to reserve a ride, they said.
“I’m really pleased,” Co-director of Finance Megan Foster said. “Last year we asked for over a 13 percent increase, and this year we got the rest of the money to do what we intended to do.”
Schultz described the results of the APS hearing as “completing the solution that we started last year,” he said.
“I’ve heard from my riders that they could not take evening classes or work late hours,” Foster said. “It really shows we’re providing an effective service.”
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