The associated Students of Madison proposed an internal budget of $1,400,514.74 for fiscal year 2016, an $87,246.08 increase from the current year, to the Student Services Finance Committee at a meeting Monday.
The budget included funding for a vote coordinator position to help plan future campaigns. The committee also added funding for a newly introduced food pantry staffed by students.
ASM Vice Chair Derek Field said the food pantry would be a response for student need since there is no resource like it on campus.
Representatives questioned the location and how food would be distributed to students. Field said he believes they might use a Wiscard swipe method, but propenents are still brainstorming ways to make sure the students who need nonperishable items are getting them.
“I have just not seen an implementation plan whatsoever dealing with this,” SSFC Secretary Brett DuCharme said. “I am very concerned about this funding not being allocated correctly.”
ASM Chair Genevieve Carter said the food pantry addresses a current issue on campus and if it is not done now, there would be a two-year wait.
“That’s two years where students would not have access to [the food pantry],” Carter said. “We have an opportunity to make this happen.”
In the meeting, SSFC also approved a budget of $32,896.30 for the Veterans, Educators and Traditional Students.
VETS is a student organization that provides support and information for student veterans, according to its website. They also educate and raise awareness of military service and veterans’ issues to the UW-Madison campus.
The Student Leadership Program also presented its budget of $56,693, a $9,260 decrease from the current budget.
SLP aims to help increase individual leadership skills through education and experiences such as the Big Ten Leadership Network, according to its website.
The SLP representatives said a large portion of the group’s budget needed to be returned the previous year because the financial coordinator stepped down in January 2014. The remaining coordinators had a lower focus on advertising and a higher focus on programming content.
SSFC will make a decision on the ASM Internal and SLP budget Thursday.
