Leaders debate UA budget

At the Undergraduate Assembly’s meeting Sunday night, members of the body, the Budget Committee and student groups came together for the “very first ever budget hearing,” according to College junior and UA Chairman Alec Webley.

The Social Planning and Events Committee requested a $15,000 increase to its $35,000 contingency fund.

SPEC’s line items, College senior and SPEC Chairwoman Dasha Barranik said, were not increased enough to balance out the Committee’s contingency fund, which is the back-up reserve.

College senior and UA Treasurer Sakina Zaidi countered that the Budget Committee’s goal was to fund requests at need, emphasizing that SPEC was given $10,000 more than it had requested in contingency.

“It doesn’t seem to make sense,” she said, “to take an additional $15,000 to buffer up a contingency fund that SPEC already has extra money in.”

Barranik also addressed the controversial issue of Multicultural Scholars Weekend funding.

SPEC values the weekend, she stressed, but should not fund the program because it has “departed from its original intent.” Campus leaders, she added, should discuss where money for the weekend should come from — potentially from the Admissions Office.

Members of the Philomathean Society advocated reincorporating the organization into SPEC’s budget, while Barranick maintained that SPEC’s goal was to make the funding process more competitive for less-established groups on campus.

Zaidi explained that SPEC Connaissance never submitted a funding request on behalf of Philo, so the Budget Committee never considered it in its recommendations.

However, she advised the body to take note of student groups who felt strongly about gaining funds.

Other issues of debate included funding of the Ivy Council, the Ivy-China program, the Undergraduate Research Symposium and an increase in the Freshmen Class Board’s funds.

This article has been corrected to reflect that SPEC was given $10,000 more than it had requested in contingency funds. The article incorrectly stated that SPEC received $1,000 more than it had requested in contingency funds.

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