By Cari Griggs, Senior Staff Writer
The Student Government Association allotment committee met March 31 to determine how much to fund student organizations’ requests for the Fall 2011 semester.
Thirty-six organizations applied for allotments this semester, said Kayla Masnek, secretary of finance for SGA.
Last semester, around forty organizations applied, Masnek said.
“Because there were more organizations last year, this meant lower caps so less money for more organizations,” she said.
The committee had less than $15,000 to give to organizations this semester. The final total granted to organizations about $11,000.
“Some people are upset that it isn’t $15,000,” Sen. Sarah Cook (president pro tempore) said.
Cook herself expressed support of the amount of money granted by organizations’ request.
“We used the same principles all the way across the board,” she said.
“There is no magic number set aside for allotments,” Masnek said. “SGA had budget cuts and we wanted to keep it lower because SGA needs money to function as well.”
Masnek said that because the allotment committee did not use $15,000, it means there will be more money for appropriations next semester for Senate.
Kelsey Connor, committee member representing Alpha Phi, Pep Dancers and Students of Arts Management, said the lower number was fair.
“We gave people what we thought they deserved,” she said. “It’s better to be on the conservative side.”
The allotment committee is made up of student representatives from organizations and the Senate appropriations committee, Masnek said.
The committee determines caps to enforce when granting requests.
“Senate wants to see consistency,” Masnek said. “Determining the caps is not all about what the committee is willing to give.
“It’s also about how much Senate wants to see.”
The caps are typically set before looking at how much organizations have requested so that there is no bias, Masnek said.
Organizations that did not follow allotment instructions were granted less money.
Circle K did not complete the application, so the committee did not fund their request.
Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature submitted their application late, so the caps were applied at half of what other organizations were eligible to receive.
There were many members of the allotment committee not in attendence at the final meeting March 31. Members not in attendance needed to go to the SGA office and read and approve the proposed allotments with Masnek before the April 5 meeting.
“I don’t want to say anyone was absent, just some had other things they had to attend,” Masnek said.
Masnek said that a majority of the committee had approved the amounts set.
No changes were made to what Senate would and would not fund this semester. All the organizations applying for allotments had applied in
the past.
*Update: Senate will vote to approve allotments at 8 p.m. April 5 in Room 104 in Sarkeys Law Center.*
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