Fan Fridays and possibly other events have been canceled for the rest of the semester, due to a budget reallocation between Student Activities and Student Government.
More than $5,000 the SG originally allocated to various student groups had to be cut from the budget, after Student Activities said their previous funding estimates were off.
Fan Fridays began last spring as an effort to increase school spirit on campus with giveaways for students wearing AU apparel.
SG’s Special Committee on the Budget passed a bill Jan. 23 using numbers Student Activities officials described as “estimates.” The SG believed the numbers would not change significantly, according to Class of 2013 Senator and Committee Chairman Taylor Yeates.
Andrew Toczydlowski, the Student Activities’ coordinator of Governance and Leadership, told SG officials that final numbers would be available shortly after Feb. 7, the add/drop deadline, he said.
On Feb. 9, Toczydlowski told SG officials the Student Activities estimates were off by $5,482.40 out of the total $38,800 distributed by Student Activities, Yeates said. That amount will not be available for SG use.
Changes between estimates and final Student Activities fees are not uncommon in the budgetary process and adjustments this large are to be expected. The discrepancies depend on how many students enroll each semester, which cannot be determined until after the add/drop deadline, Toczydlowski said.
“The margin of error in these calculations is not something that’s easily predicted,” he said in an e-mail.
Last year, Student Activities’ dispersion of funds increased by over $1,000 between the time of estimation and final figures, Toczydlowski said.
Most of the organizations that lost money did so voluntarily at a Feb. 9 budget meeting or lost money considered a “buffer” by the Special Committee on the Budget, said Class of 2013 Senator Tim McBride, a member of the Committee.
Bike Lending, the Class of 2011, the Community Service Coalition, the Special Programming Events Commission and the Undergraduate Business Association all saw parts of their allocations cut.
The Student Government General Fund, used by the executive branch for various purposes, took the biggest cut at about $2,000, leading to the cancellation of Fan Fridays for the rest of the semester.
Bike Lending lost $500, affecting its ability to move forward on various initiatives Director Dan Raymer had in mind for the spring semester, including doubling the number of bikes in the AU bike fleet.
“It’s going to slow us down, but we’ll be able to recover,” Raymer said.
The Kennedy Political Union, the Student Union Board and Women’s Initiative did not lose funding because external contracts are either being negotiated or have already been budgeted for, according to Greg Cornell, SUB director.
SUB’s budget from the beginning of the reallocation process was going to be left with at least enough money to pay back their $11,000 debt incurred during the Cee Lo Green concert, McBride said.
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