The Undergraduate Student Senate Allocations Committee only has 2 percent of its budget left for next semester.

Of the $215,748 the committee received from student activities fees, it has allocated a total of $211,265, leaving only $4,483 remaining.

Before the committee’s last meeting Friday, Sean Groves, USS senator for business and finance and Allocations Committee chairman, said he thought the committee would run out of money.

At the meeting, the committee heard 11 requests and gave out $50,829.08 to six different groups. The Financial Management Association received the bulk of those funds by getting $31,940 to bring Motion City Soundtrack on Jan. 27, 2007. The event is co-sponsored by the All-Campus Programming Board, the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Commuter and Off-Campus Student Organization.

Elizabeth Eckels, president of the Financial Management Association, said the event would increase membership and the groups’ exposure on-campus.

During discussion, the committee talked about the approval of the Inter-Greek Programming Board’s request to bring Ryan Cabrera for its Rock Out Lupus program. Cabrera was supposed to perform Friday, but the concert was canceled due to ACPB contract deadlines. The event will most likely be changed to a different date next semester, Groves said.

The committee compared Cabrera’s honorarium to Motion City Soundtrack’s, noting that Motion City Soundtrack’s is higher. An honorarium is the price it costs to bring a performer, before additional costs. The committee also had concerns about the date that Rock Out Lupus will be rescheduled. But the Motion City Soundtrack request came down to Groves because the committee voted in a 5-5-1 tie.

“This has the potential to be very successful,” Groves said as he voted to approve the request.

After the meeting, Groves said that although he took into account how much money the committee had left, he felt it was more important to think about the quality of the program.

“They’re touring all kinds of college campuses,” Groves said. “I think this is a program that will pack the Ballroom.”

At the meeting, the committee also chose to approve the Psychology Club’s request for $1,000 to attend the Midwestern Psychological Association conference, COSO’s request for $966.08 to hold Coffee Hour, and the American Marketing Association’s request for $1,000 to attend the AMA International Collegiate Conference.

Kent State Circle K’s request for $1,000 to attend the Circle K 50th Annual District Convention and the Kent African Student Association’s request for $14,923 to hold African Night.

But the committee was forced to table requests from the International Film Society for $5,455 for next semester’s film showings and the College Republicans for $1,000 to attend a conference. The committee denied requests from Impact Movement for $1,000 to attend the national conference and the American Institute of Architecture Students for $1,000 to attend the w forum.

The committee was forced to deny AIAS’ request because Allocations bylaws state that an organization’s president and treasurer must be undergraduate students to receive funds from the committee. AIAS’ treasurer is a graduate student.

The committee also funded the AIAS’ lecture series next semester, so the group will either have to change officers or give the money back to Allocations, Groves said.

Groves added that the committee is expecting to receive about $10,000 back from other organizations that did not use all of the funds received or generated revenue from ticket sales.

“An organization can then come back and go into the process,” he said before the meeting.

Last year, the committee was left with about $15,000 at the end of the year, but in the 2004-2005 academic year, the committee spent all of its funds, Groves said.

“It’s an ongoing learning process,” he said. “The money that’s been spent has been worthwhile.”

Groves said the amount of requests have been the same as in previous years.

“There’s been a lot more larger requests as well,” he said.

Groves said during ad-hoc time – when the committee and USS reviews the Allocations bylaws and proposes changes – some of the problems, such as the amount of money already spent, will come into discussion.

Contact student politics reporter Kali Price at [email protected].