In its first budget meeting of the 56th session, Student Association determined the fate of 119 bills from various student organizations at Syracuse University.

The meeting, one of two that will take place during President Dylan Lustig’s administration, was held at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Life Sciences Complex.

Before this process began, Lustig reiterated how critical the decisions made at this meeting are to all students on SU’s campus.

‘This is student money, this is the money every student pays,’ he said. ‘It’s being allocated by you.’

Unlike standard general assembly meetings, the budgets for these organizations were the only topic on the agenda. During budget meetings, the general assembly votes to accept or reject the recommendations made by the Finance Board from the hearing process.

SA cannot change the amount of money an organization was granted, but they can vote to have the board re-evaluate the bills. The Finance Board is not obligated to change their initial ruling.

Groups that were either partially funded or not funded can appeal the ruling, but run the risk of forfeiting any amount they were granted previously.

SA members voted to approve all $1,458,837.49 allocated by the Finance Board at this point in the budget process. There is $406,704.00 remaining for the appeals process.

CitrusTV was recommended zero funding instead of the $261,468.30 the station requested because officials failed to make their budget hearing.

University Union was not granted $285,219.47 for another Rock the Dome concert due to concerns about the event’s timing and about receiving funding for another large-scale concert through the student activity fee.

A majority of the bills presented were met with little discussion or debate, aside from technical clarifications.

But two bills, Phi Beta Sigma’s ‘Laughing for Education’ comedy show and the Chinese Students and Scholar Association’s 2012 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, incited discussion about the fairness of the tier system.

The tier system is a measure that ranks student organizations based on the number of successful events they have held in the past. The system determines the maximum level of funding a group is eligible to receive.

The tier each organization is currently in is public, and groups were implored to review this before their hearing, said Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo.

Groups cannot have their status re-evaluated until the next semester.

The contention about Phi Beta Sigma’s event revolved around a mistake in the budget the fraternity submitted.

‘In the past, Phi Beta Sigma has submitted the budget, and this year, Omega Phi Beta submitted the budget with Phi Beta Sigma as a co-sponsor,’ DeSalvo said.

As a tier three organization, Omega Phi Beta is only eligible to receive amounts of $25,000 or less, not the $62,655.50 requested for the comedy show.

Donald Saint-Germain, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at SU, expressed displeasure with the decision, noting the event was funded the past two years.

‘How can you tell an organization, ‘You got funded for this amount two years in a row,’ even before this whole system was created, and now you’re telling them, ‘OK, now you’re not,” he said.

DeSalvo said the Finance Board is simply adhering to the tier rankings of groups devised by former Comptroller Jeff Rickert.

‘I think the Finance Board has made it clear we want to make sure we stick to the tier system,’ he said.

Saint-Germain also expressed frustration about how the process of moving up in the system is unclear to student organizations.

‘So the only way an organization can move up is pretty much having a conversation with you and Finance Board?’ he said. ‘Nothing official, no paperwork, just a conversation?’

He said Phi Beta Sigma plans to appeal the decision after the mistake is rectified.

The Chinese Students and Scholar Association was not granted the $9,370.05 it requested because of where it is categorized in the tier system as well.

Representatives from the association discussed how this event has occurred for the past 11 years. They requested more money for this year’s event, in hopes of securing a higher-profile artist with more appeal to the student body.

School of Education representative Daniel Hernandez suggested the rules governing this system should be evaluated.

‘I just don’t believe our rules necessarily need to be this stringent,’ he said. ‘We should support what is reflected in our campus and in our students’ work. And I think 11 years of work is something we should uphold.’

The tier system can be amended through legislation in future SA meetings.

dmsegelb@syr.edu 

Published on April 9, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum