The De Anza Associated Student Body Senate reallocated and distributed funding to several departments and programs at their Feb. 17 meeting. This was the Senate’s first vote on the funding for programs requesting funding for 2010-2011, with the second vote to be held Wednesday. College groups had requested a total of $1,560,316 from an available $1,018,123, and the Senate Finance Committee had submitted reccomendation on how the funds should be distributed.
Among the programs requesting funding were the Writing and Reading Center, the athletics department, the Inter Club Council and the Euphrat museum. The Senate allotted each program three minutes to declare their accomplishments and elaborate why DASB funding and support is essential to their organization. Representatives acknowledged the scarcity of funds, but highlighted the benefits of their programs. Alicia Cortez, project co-coordinator of Puente, a program that promotes students transferring to four-year institutions, called the opportunities they offer “a priceless aid to success.” Other departments used terms like “consistency” and “longevity” to describe their achievements, explaining their inability to maintain the upkeep on expenses such as equipment and traveling.
After a tedious process of deliberation, the Senate concluded that slashing $3,300 from the women’schorale was their best option, while also removing $5,000 each from the summer/fall and winter/spring contingency funds. This gave the senate $13,300 additionally to distribute among more than 20 programs, all of which say they’re in desperate need of funding.
La Voz Weekly was among the many programs requesting funding. Faculty adviser Beth Grobman said La Voz Weekly was important not only as a medium to distribute information, but also as a tangible record of De Anza’s history. Senate Vice President of Marketing and Communications John Yan motioned to give La Voz Weekly an additional $5,000 on the condition that it features more DASB-related content. Grobman said that as a First Amendment publication, the student government may not dictate the paper’s content. La Voz Weekly was ultimately allotted $6,000 of remaining funds, in addition to the Finance Committee’s earlier recommendation of $15,000, in a unanimous vote by the Senate.
Of the programs requesting funding, the DASB also granted the Inter Club Council an additional $3,000 to the $50,000 recommended by the Finance Committee. The Euphrat museum was awarded $18,326 less than the original amount they requested. The men and women’s soccer team received $500 each in addition to the Finance Committee’s recommendation of $3,500. The remaining $130 was reallocated back into the summer/fall and winter/spring funds.
Despite the volume of programs requesting funding to survive, the Senate lacked funds to award all programs their requests, and prioritized the organizations that they deemed worthy, requiring programs to seek funding elsewhere or find options to save funds. The Listening and Speaking Lab will have to continue to rely on student volunteers, and women’s badminton team will be unable to travel.
