USAC aims to get more student funding, delays voting on budget

By Jenny Blake
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
[email protected]

The Undergraduate Students Association Council postponed its
vote to approve the 2002-03 budget until next week in order to
negotiate with the Associated Students of UCLA for more student
funding.

Student programming funds would be cut by 55 percent if the
current ASUCLA budget proposal passes, leaving only $57,776 for
USAC and other student organizations compared to the $131,082 it
received this school year.

In addition, more than half the money would go toward telephone
expenses, such as utility costs and toll calls, according to Debra
Simmons, ASUCLA student government accounting manager.

“Essentially, we could not fund any student groups with
that amount of money,” said USAC General Representative Theo
Apostol. “I would like to leave next year’s council
with a lot more money to promote student programming ““ we
want students to have as much funds as they could possibly
have.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, council members expressed concerns
about having to vote on the proposed budget without first
negotiating with ASUCLA to bring funding back to a
“manageable level.”

“ASUCLA has put us in a very compromising position, not
having a part in deciding how the money is distributed,” said
Academic Affairs Commissioner Bryant Tan.

Council members also said students should not suffer from
funding problems that may arise for ASUCLA because of recent
efforts by its workers to unionize with the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees.

In an earlier interview, ASUCLA Executive Director Patricia
Eastman said the association may have to cut funding to students,
including a $50,000 subsidy to student governments and a $60,000
increase that would fund student programs.

“Students should not be punished by irresponsibility on
the part of ASUCLA,” Tan said.

ASUCLA Division Manager Pat McLaren said although the budget is
not final, it is considered a “worst case
scenario.”

“It’s a crazy set of circumstances (for ASUCLA)
right now,” McLaren said. “I know they looked at a lot
of factors when they created this budget.”

Every council member, with the exception of one abstention,
voted to postpone approving next year’s budget until their
next meeting.

President Karren Lane said she hopes to meet with the ASUCLA
board this week to discuss funding allocations.