UA to vote on budget at meeting

The Undergraduate Assembly will meet Sunday night to discuss the 1994-1995 budgets for all branches of student government. The UA's total budget of $828,000 will be dispersed by members to the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, the Social Planning and Events Committee, the four Class Boards, the Nominations and Elections Committee, the Student Activities Council and the UA itself. Several controversial issues will be discussed at the meeting, including methods of funding campus social activities and buying new technological equipment for the various student government offices. UA member and Engineering junior Ha Nguyen said the budget meeting will most likely focus on a debate regarding the budgets of SPEC and the newly-formed Class Boards. The Class Boards were established last year to increase school and class spirit. Boards were elected for the freshman, sophomore and junior classes. A Senior Class Board has existed since the mid-1980's. Wharton junior Jason Diaz, Junior Class Board president, has been the spokesperson for the Class Boards. At a presentation he made to the UA at its February 20 meeting, he outlined the accomplishments and goals of the Class Boards. The Boards have sponsored class-wide events such as the Junior Class Florida Beach Party held in February and University-wide events, such as November's Skimmer Day. SPEC plans University social events including Spring Fling, along with concerts, movies and a multitude of other activities throughout the year. "We're ready to offer even better programming than we have in the past," SPEC President Lissette Monge said. "Our budget reflects the new programming we're planning to do." Some UA members have said that the Class Boards and SPEC overlap in their activities and have called the funding of both organizations into question. "I think there is definite overlap in some of the social planning that goes on between Class Boards and SPEC," Nguyen said. "We have to decide where to cut that overlap so one group will get funding for one thing and the other group will get funding for something else." UA member and College sophomore Lance Rogers said he hopes both groups retain funding because they serve different purposes. "Class Boards deal with individual classes whereas SPEC is University-wide," he said. "I think they play two different roles and both need to be fully continued." Rogers said he does not think the existence of the Class Boards will come into question at Sunday's meeting. UA Treasurer and College sophomore Ashley Magids said she supports the existence and funding of both organizations. "We will be recommending that? the two work together on many events," she said. "They understand that there will be funding differences but I don't think there has to be funding problems since there are clear differences between the two organizations." Magids added that she and the UA Budget and Finance Committee will explain those distinctions on Sunday. Monge said the differences become "blurred" when the four Class Boards do activities jointly. "They then become University-wide things and the lines become blurred," she said. "Class Boards are for class events and SPEC is for large University events." Magids said she expects this year's budget meeting to go much smoother than last year's, which lasted for seven hours. "I really don't anticipate any large controversial debates except possibly those centering around the Class Boards and SPEC," she said. "I am very hopeful that the meeting will run very smoothly this year and I've worked up to my potential to make that happen." Magids said she has gone over the budgets with each branch of student government to determine what cuts would be best for the budget and easiest for the group. She added that she has given budget reports at each UA meeting in order to inform the body so "they will not have questions about what activities are already in existence and have already been explained." UA members will also discuss various moves which could improve the technology for the student government offices located in Houston Hall. SCUE is requesting funding for a new computer because its current one "is and always has been very inadequate," SCUE Chairperson and Engineering junior Matthew Kratter said. Rogers said he supports SCUE's request. "They've been doing some great things and I think they need that computer to continue doing so," he said. The budget meeting is the last official meeting of the outgoing UA. The new UA members, who were elected two weeks ago, will take office following a transition meeting on March 30. There, the new UA steering committee will also be selected. Diaz was unavailable for comment last night.