Student organizations including Vets for Vets, College Agriculture and Life Science, Student Council and WSUM student radio fought over segregated funds during the Associated Students of Madison's Student Services Financial Committee meeting Thursday night.
SSFC debated Madison student-run radio station WSUM's budget, and ultimately cut $40 from T-shirt money for the Snake on the Lake event, but otherwise unanimously passed the budget, allotting the station $319,057.67 for the year, which pleased Station Manager Y Mae Sussman.
"I found myself immediately at home as WSUM," Sussman said. "I feel like WSUM affords a tremendous amount of opportunity to any student. In my position, I’ve gained better experience than almost any class in terms of administrative skills, and this opportunity is afforded to any student."
Vets for Vets, an organization started 35 years ago by the Dean of Students Office to help handle the influx of Vietnam veterans on campus, requested additional funding from SSFC.
Presently, Vets for Vets help provide services that supply information to students serving in National Guard and services, dependents of deceased and disabled veterans, war veterans and the general student body.
"Educational benefits can be a puzzle difficult to decipher," Treasurer Courtney Pfad said. "Everyone knows veterans are able to get help under the GI Bill, but they don't know there are eight types, all with different kinds of benefits."
Their 2007-08 budget increase appeal was for office supplies to continue printing their brochures in house, to replace and add furniture in office, purchase Adobe Photoshop for a newsletter and to increase funding for fall and spring socials.
Another organization asking for a budget increase is the CALS Student Council, which is seeking money to create a new administrative position of Graduate Student Advisor who will work with officers to do financial planning, and help improve opportunities and experiences for students interested in life sciences.
They are also looking to increase funding to improve existing programs such as leadership workshops, CALS Fair at World Dairy Expo and CALS Week. One of the most-contested items in their budget was for food.
President of CALS Student Council Tanya Zimmerman said "food creates an environment conducive to talking and welcoming," as she defended her organization's budgetary items.
SSFC also heard a budget presentation from Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a Mexicano and Chicano culture awareness group at UW, and approved funding for Sex Out Loud.
SSFC is a student group, which advises the Associated Students of Madison Student Council on how to allocate more than $19 million in segregated fees that comes from UW Madison students' tuition. It is composed of 17 student members as well as a non-voting member appointed by the chancellor.
They make recommendations to raise, freeze, lower or deny funding to organizations, which provide educational services to University of Wisconsin students. The recommendations SSFC make go to the ASM Student Council, then Chancellor John Wiley and finally to the UW System Board of Regents for approval.
