The Student Services Finance Committee approved the final 2003-'04 budgets for Asian Pacific American Council and Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group Monday.
This meeting was the first in which SSFC Representative Mark Baumgardner was not present as a result of his removal by the Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary.
In an open forum, students rallied support for APAC and WisPIRG, outlining the importance of both organizations to the UW-Madison campus and its students.
\They have always been a significant presence on this campus, and certainly a great resource to students,"" said ASM Diversity Chair Jennifer Epps, regarding the WisPIRG approval.
As the budget decisions were finalized, APAC suffered cuts in programming costs, the number of paid liaison positions and the hourly wage rates of its staff. Although the budget proposed by APAC was significantly larger than in recent years, most SSFC representatives said they found the increase legitimate.
""I feel confident investing student segregated fees into this organization. They provide a real, distinct service to this campus that is clearly evident within their programming efforts and their overall commitment to students,"" SSFC representative Monica San Miguel said.
The budget for APAC was finalized at $178,797.
After some deliberation, WisPIRG's originally proposed budget of $77,600 was approved. In doing so, SSFC representatives said they felt WisPIRG's commitment to students and the service it provides the campus community merited the approval of this proposed budget.
""Simply put, this is a good looking budget. They have a strong presence at UW-Madison, and the campus gets a lot more back from WisPIRG than from most organizations,"" said SSFC representative Andrew Bryan.
SSFC also heard budget proposals from Safe Arrival for Everyone Nighttime Services, VETS for VETS and the Student Leadership Program. Final budget decisions for these organizations will be made at the SSFC meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
