Correction Appended
Recent changes to the budgeting system of the AU Club Council have left some student groups wondering how they will manage to finance their events for the rest of this school year.
Debate Society President James Schmitt and Vice President of Finance Stephanie Caravias said this new monthly budgeting system puts their group at a significant disadvantage because it hinders their planning for the year.
The AUCC instituted a new monthly budget system in September to replace the budget system that allocated funds by semester.
As before, groups can apply for a monthly budget for any amount of funds. But the AUCC can only give one organization a maximum of five percent of the total AUCC budget. Five percent of the total AUCC budget can be between $6,000 and $7,000, depending on what the AUCC receives from the Student Activity Fee, according to Student Activities Coordinator of Governance and Leadership Andrew Toczydlowski.
They must submit their proposed budgets by the 15th of each month. The clubs are then notified of the AUCC’s budget decisions on the 30th of the month, The Eagle previously reported.
AU College Democrats and Pep Band missed the September budget deadline to receive AUCC allocations for use in October, according to AUCC Chair Katelyn Hurley. Other student groups like the Peace and Empowerment Project and the Debate Society expressed concern that they would have problems adjusting to the new monthly budgeting system, Hurley said.
Schmitt and Caravias worry they will not be able to cover the expenses for their debate tournaments, especially those that need to be paid months in advance of the tournament, such as travel expenses and participation fees.
The Debate Society received $3,000 this month, the highest allocation the AUCC gave out. However, the Debate Society is supposed to compete in a national debate tournament from Nov. 5 to 6, but Caravias said she is unsure how the group will be able to get there.
“We need a couple thousand [dollars] up front to compete, so the budget we were allocated for does not cover travel expenses, let alone the cost of the tournament,” she said.
Schmitt said he understands this new monthly budgeting system will give smaller student groups more flexibility and the ability to put on more events, but the system is not helpful for larger groups like the Debate Society that need to plan events months in advance.
Last year, Debate Society received a total of $6,000 after initially getting $2,500 for the whole school year.
They then appealed this budget and got an additional $500 for the semester, according to Caravias. The group had to ask again for $3,000 for the next semester.
He is concerned his group may not even be able to function in the near future under the monthly budgeting system.
“Unfortunately, the way it stands now, if we don’t get some sort of solution or fix, that really cripples our ability to compete,” he said. “We’re looking at not being able to compete in tournaments, not be able to compete on the national circuit.”
The Club Council makes the final decisions about what budget system to put in place, and how much each group gets for a budget, according to Hurley. But Student Activities will intervene if they feel the AUCC makes an unfair allocation.
AUCC Chair Katelyn Hurley said she will be working closely with larger student groups in the near future to adjust them to the monthly budgeting system.
She also noted that student groups can seek other sources of funding besides the AUCC. The Student Government and Student Activities both give out grants to student organizations throughout the year.
Student organizations can also fundraise, solicit donations from outside groups or co-sponsor events with various AU offices like the Office of Campus Life if the event is expected to have a fairly large turnout.
Hurley said the AUCC is working with as many sources as possible to help AUCC-funded student groups make the transition from a yearly to a monthly budgeting system.
“We want to work with them to make it work for them,” she said.
jryan@theeagleonline.com
Correction: It was originally stated that student groups can apply for $100 to $6,000 from the American University Club Council. Groups can actually apply for up to five percent of the AUCC's entire budget, which is typically between $6,000 and $7,000. It was also previously stated that Student Activities will intervene in AUCC allocation decisions if they feel a certain club's budget is too high or too low. Student Activities will only intervene if they feel the amount allocated to a club is somehow unfair. The Eagle regrets these errors.
