USG trims budget to allow for more allocations for student groups
*Co-Sponsored Events: Club team facility rental, blastoff fireworks, orientation packets, late night programming, homecoming, folk festival, bike share program. Director Initiatives: NYTimes/USA Today. Blue books, voter registration packets, alcohol awareness program, community walks. Special Projects: These funds are used for projects that are proposed after the budget is made. Personnel: graphic designer/web developer, administrative assistant, and Papp gets paid for working over summer and winter breaks. Graphic by Rachael Chillicott.
Kent State’s Undergraduate Student Government has cut its operating budget by $11,000 this school year to allow more money to go to its allocations fund.
The allocations fund allows for non-discriminatory student groups and individuals to help pay for conferences and group-sponsored events.
Kevin Papp, Undergraduate Student Government’s executive director, said the USG budget comes from the student activity fee that all students pay every semester. A full-time student pays $19.20 per semester into the student activity fund.
The USG’s projected budget for this year is about $761,000; about $150,000 of that will go into the allocations fund. About 54 percent of the initial budget goes toward programming, such as concerts and comedians, and 1.75 percent goes toward funding the May Fourth Task Force.
The operating budget this year has been cut from about $197,000 to roughly $186,000.
“We really tried to trim our budget this year so more could go to allocations,” Papp said. “It doesn’t seem like a lot in the big picture, but it’s at least a start to trim our fat.”
Papp said with more funds going to allocations, he hopes more students and groups will apply for funding for various events and conferences.
“We hope that we can exhaust those funds,” Papp said. “It seems like every year not all of allocations funds are used just because student organizations either don’t know that they’re there or how to go about requesting them. So our goal every year, which we started really heavily last year, is really advertising how you can come for allocations.”
Abbey Lowe, freshman exploratory major, said she’d like to see USG support academics.
“They shouldn’t coordinate as many social events but try to do more academic things,” Lowe said. “Social events are great, especially for myself as a freshman, but if they have all that money, they should probably put it toward more academic things.”
Jeremy Polen, junior technology major, said he thinks the money is being spent well.
“I don’t participate a ton in activities…but it seems to be going pretty well,” Polen said.
Papp said he hopes that more students will get involved and apply for money for their group or conference.
“The students this year are paying (the student activity fee),” Papp said. “(They) should reap the benefits of it.”
Contact Britni Williams at [email protected].