News

Group cuts funding to MCSC budget

The Student Services Finance Committee made numerous cuts to the 2006-07 fiscal budget for the MultiCultural Student Coalition, after bringing the issue to a total of nearly nine hours of debate Monday.

Continuing deliberation from their meeting last Thursday, the committee cut funds from the organization's salary, computer hardware and office-supply funds during the last committee meeting. Further cuts and a final budget decision were unavailable as of press time.

SSFC cut nearly $4,300 from MCSC's $440,000 proposed budget by zero-funding their multicultural spring barbeque, a program many members felt was a duplicate of a multicultural barbeque held in the fall.

Representative Sree Atluru called the cut "ridiculous," and said MCSC needed both barbeques to be successful.

"They need to bring back the same people at the end of the year to discuss issues," Atluru said.

In support of the cut, SSFC Vice-Chair Eric Saar said he felt the events were redundant and too similar in purpose.

"I do think [a barbeque] does a lot for campus climate," Saar said. "But I don't think there needs to be two."

Representative Catherine Quinn echoed Saar's comments, adding the committee should not fund what she considered to be social events.

The committee also zero-funded the organization's Open Mic Night, which members felt duplicated a different open mic night held at the Memorial Union.

"We have already [had] a hugely successful open mic night," SSFC representative Kellie Sanders said. "Adding another open mic night wouldn't be beneficial and I don't think it's necessary."

The committee cut about $7,600 from the MCSC professional training program, which provides career preparation to interested students from speakers outside of Madison.

Saar argued that the need to fund speakers outside of Madison was not necessary for professional training.

"There are experts right on this campus that would be more than willing to do this professional training for free," he said.

The committee also spent a significant amount of time in debate before deciding to also cut funds from MCSC's annual Poetry Slam.

Representative Zach Frey said the program — which brings in nearly 6,000 students per year — was cost-effective.

"What other program can you find that is this successful and costs only $1.77 per person?" he asked.

In addition, SSFC cut $1,000 from MCSC's budget for the AND1 Hip-Hop Education program, which educates students on the evolution of hip-hop.

According to committee representative Adam Schlicht, the cut is based on previous SSFC decisions on funding speakers for other student organizational programs.

MCSC executive member Katrina Flores expressed her concern over the committee's funding cuts to programs such as the Poetry Slam, the AND1 Hip-Hop Education program and the Education Not Incarceration Panel.

"I don't think [some of the cuts] can be fiscally responsible, seeing that we are a growing organization," she said.

Flores added the organization already has used a majority of their roughly $99,000 programming budget this year and feared MCSC would not have adequate programming funding in the future.

Flores felt the long debate on MCSC's budget was necessary for one of the largest and most prominent student organizations on campus.

"While we would rather be studying, it's understandable," Flores said. "They want to give us a responsible budget."

SSFC will continue deciding budgets for the UW Roman Catholic Foundation, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, CALS and El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan at its next meeting on Thursday.

If the committee cannot decide all budgets by Thursday, SSFC will hold an emergency budgetary meeting to finish decisions.