The Student Services and Finance Committee announced at its Monday night meeting that member Adriana Barboza will leave the committee because she is over the absence limit.

It was the second time Barboza had breached the absence limit, SSFC Chair Janell Wise said.

“[Barboza] said she can’t be on the committee anymore for personal reasons,” Wise said. “She knows she is being removed and is okay with it.”

After the announcement, the SSFC approved two student organizations’ budgets and heard the proposal for one other.

The committee, which cut more than $20,000 from the 2005-06 budget for the Asian and Pacific American Council Thursday night, approved the budget after cutting $10,000 more.

APAC’s 2005-06 budget was approved at $206,935, more than $30,000 less than the organization had requested, but almost identical to its 2004-05 budget.

SSFC cut more than $4,180 of APAC’s requested funds for a travel line conference. APAC wanted to take 40 people but will instead have to take 21, SSFC member Kevin Otten said. The student organization will also take fleet vehicles as a substitute for a charter bus.

The committee cut $4,000 from APAC’s requested budget from honorarium for the organization’s speakers’ tour. Initially, $20,000 was designated for the speakers’ tour, but SSFC decided it was too much money for nine planned speakers.

“I support this event, I believe in this event, but $20,000 is too much,” Otten said.

Ron Sung, chief administrator of APAC, expressed some frustration with the committee. Sung said only five of 10 committee members who attended APAC’s 2005-06 budget proposal one week ago were also at Thursday’s meeting, when more than $20,000 was cut from APAC’s 2005-06 budget.

“I don’t know why I even gave a presentation,” Sung said.

The committee also approved the 2005-06 budget for Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment at $64,910, an increase of more than $3,000 from the organization’s 2004-05 budget.

PAVE is a student organization designed to promote awareness about sexual violence, according to its website.

SSFC cut more than $1,800 from PAVE’s 2005-06 proposed budget for newspaper advertisements. The organization will have four one-half-page advertisements instead of full-page advertisements during Sexual Assault Awareness month.

“The publicity impact will still be pretty great, even if we cut monetary support,” SSFC member Brad Vogel said.

PAVE members said they were “extremely excited” about the SSFC’s budget decision. Eileen Lalor, outreach coordinator for PAVE, said the placement of the full-page advertisements will make them hard to ignore. However, she said the cut was not at all “absurd” because the committee gave valid explanations for justifying the cut.

Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow presented its 2005-06 budget, requesting $220,258, which is up 182 percent from its 2004-05 budget allocation of $78,141.

The organization’s goal is to encourage environmental debate and expand educational opportunities for students with points of view on the environment, CFACT member Peter McCabe said.

CFACT members said the large increase is due to the need for two professional staff positions, an upgrade in office supplies and to increase the magnitude of its guest speakers.

“Each and every [budget item] gives value back to students,” McCabe said.

SSFC will decide CFACT’s 2005-06 budget at a meeting Thursday night.