The Asian and Pacific American Council will receive $211,510 in student segregated fees next year after a close decision Sunday by the Associated Students of Madison's Student Services Finance Committee.
SSFC also approved the budgets for the Rape Crisis Center; Polygon; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Center; and Wunk Sheek after hours of debate.
The committee approved APAC's budget by a vote of 7-6, reducing the request of $292,830.
Much of the debate over the group's budget concerned the funding of a conference APAC members want to hold at UW-Madison for Asian groups from around the state. Such an endeavor would be covered under the program supplies portion of the budget. SSFC members disagreed over the service and scope of the conference, as questions arose as to whether UW-Madison students should be funding a conference that would also be attended by students from other colleges.
SSFC member Rob Staude said he would not feel comfortable allocating segregated fees to pay for students from other UW System campuses to attend the conference.
APAC Chair Heidi Kong said excluding students would work against the goals of the conference and the organization.
\Why do you invite guests to your home for dinner? To hear their opinion, to get their view,"" she said. ""We're trying to bring knowledge and experience that's not present here.""
Nearly every budget amendment that passed did so by a close margin, including the program supplies budget, passed at $81,000 instead of a proposed $100,000.
Kong said certain cuts in the budget would pose problems for the organization.
""We're going to have a lot of overworked staff next year,"" she said.
SSFC also passed the budget of Wunk Sheek, UW-Madison's undergraduate Native American student organization, by a vote of 8-4. The final budget was $100,682, cut from a proposed $147,713.
SSFC member Carl Camacho spoke in favor of fully funding the group.
""If we don't let [Wunk Sheek] grow to where they should be staff-wise, it will be detrimental to the students they're trying to serve,"" Camacho said.
SSFC granted the RCC and Polygon their full proposed budgets of $35,200 and $5,650, respectively, by unanimous votes. The LGBTCC was funded at approximately $46,000.
Groups unhappy with budgets SSFC approved must file an appeal by the end of the week.
