The Associate Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee wrapped up this year’s budget hearings, renewing their contract with the Rape Crisis Center and approving WSUM’s budget.

Kelly Anderson, executive director of the Rape Crisis Center in Dane County, spoke to members of the SSFC board about renewing the three-year contract between SSFC and the Rape Crisis Center, which is currently in its second year.

“The contract is set up to ensure access to services for students who are victims of sexual assault,” Anderson said.

Under the contract, the Rape Crisis Center is required to provide 24/7 access to immediate crisis response services in person, 24/7 counseling, information and support through a crisis hotline, and 200 hours per year of educational outreach programs on campus.

According to Anderson, though the Dean of Students and UHS provide the Rape Crisis Center with office space for counseling and consultation, the center remains independent from university funding to ensure students’ confidentiality.

“[The Rape Crisis Center] gives students an option to seek services on campus from a private, non-profit organization that has no affiliation with the university,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the separation from the university means students do not have to tell their parents about using the center’s services if they do not want to.

According to the contract renewal proposal, the Rape Crisis Center projects an average of 525 UW student victims annually seeking assistance.

“Statistically, one out of five women will be sexually assaulted by the time they graduate from UW,” Anderson said.

SSFC provides funding for 8 percent of the Rape Crisis Center’s $640,798 budget.

Anderson said SSFC is one of the Rape Crisis Center’s five main sources of funding, adding if SSFC were to cut funding, the center would struggle to provide the services it currently offers.

“The reality is, we are not going to turn any student away,” Anderson said. “We are going to serve rape victims, we just hope you’ll help us do it.”

The committee unanimously voted to renew the Rape Crisis Center’s contract.

WSUM’s budget of $313,258.73 was also unanimously approved by the committee in a 6-0-0 vote.

According to WSUM General Manager Dave Black, the approved budget is a 2.28 percent increase from last year’s budget, with most of the increase to go toward salaries of staff members.

“The budget is complicated, but we showed the board exactly where the money is going to be spent,” Maggie Brennan, WSUM’s station manager said.

Brennan said WSUM lobbied extensively with SSFC, even to the point of giving them tours of the radio station.

With the committee finishing up its budget hearings, SSFC Chair Brandon Williams said the committee has approved a total of 25 budgets this year, for a total of approximately $38 million.

Williams said SSFC will now focus on ASM’s internal budget, starting by determining what should be done with the $40,000 Housing Tenant Support Services budget passed on Feb. 24.