The Associated Students of Madison Student Council met Wednesday for discussion on their proposed budget for the 2016 fiscal year.
ASM is annually tasked with making decisions on the breakdown of segregated university fees, which are charged to students for services and programs aside from general instruction.
The budget covers a variety of costs such as ASM administrative functions, stipends for ASM faculty and staff, and registered student organizations grants.
Council members were given the opportunity to have an initial view of each line of the budget, which was proposed at a total of $1,339,766.15.
The line for membership to the United States Student Association was reassigned a fee for the 2016 fiscal year after being eliminated from the budget last year.
The USSA promotes education and advocacy for issues impacting students and works to develop the student voice at a local, state and national level, according to its website.
Previously, ASM excluded this line from the budget and revoked its membership due to the association’s ties with partisan issues, like abortion.
This year, however, ASM Vice Chair Derek Field spoke on the importance of having student voices represented on a larger scale.
“We get the opportunity to shape the national student agenda,” Field said, in reference to the USSA’s connection to national campaigns, like lobbying movements in Washington D.C.
Members also discussed the Green Fund, which was introduced to Council by the Sustainability Committee last year to give grants to students developing sustainability initiatives on campus.
Sustainability Committee Chair Kyla Kaplan proposed a decrease in the fund from $80,000 to $50,000 but mentioned a positive response from student organizations taking advantage of this fund despite the decrease.
In addition to budget discussion, the Council heard from the Rape Crisis Center on their proposed line increase from $60,000 to $100,000 in the 2017 fiscal year.
RCC representatives explained how the increase in funds from ASM will benefit their intention of an expanded presence on campus, partly by providing immediate advocates for victims of sexual assault.
Council will meet again next Wednesday to discuss amendments and ultimately vote on next year’s budget.
