Almost a day since the Associated Students of Madison's Student Services Finance Committee decided upon the budget of the Multicultural Student Coalition and Diversity Education Specialists, the organizations' leaders say they are generally pleased with the results.
MCSC's final allocation of $555,467, approved early Thursday morning, fell short of its proposed budget, which topped $1 million. For the 2001-'02 school year, the group received $114,703 in segregated fees. DES, the academic staff who work directly through administrators to increase cultural awareness on campus, obtained $435,300, up from $82,500 this year.
Some areas of the budget that took cuts and over which SSFC deliberated for the longest amount of time were rent for an office space and computer software and hardware. MCSC received $111,313 for rent and $28,490 for computers, down from the proposed $123,213 and $85,250, respectively. SSFC approved a staff composed of 24 members and two chair positions instead of the 44 members desired.
SSFC member Joel Urmanski said some of the allocation might return to SSFC if the costs for rent of an office space actually end up being less than was decided upon.
\The rent proposal was the most difficult decision to make,"" he said ""Some of the spending they have to do for the rent is for construction costs. If some of that money is not necessary, however, it comes back to SSFC.""
The rent for the increased amount of office space was one of the best additions to MCSC, according to MCSC Chair Tshaka Barrows.
""The office space was the thing I was happiest about the most,"" he said. ""We can really provide a solid structure and service for those working now.""
The number of staff members, however, disappointed members of MCSC, Barrows said.
""We would like to see more student staff positions ... people who can make stuff happen for the organization,"" he said.
Urmanski did not share that sentiment, however.
""In the beginning I did have some issues with the proposed number of staff people,"" Urmanski said. ""They proposed 44 staff members, and I could not justify that large of a jump. Cutting it to 26 was still a little high, but I acquiesced.""
SSFC member Rob Staude said he did not agree with the amount budgeted for rent or the number of staff members.
""Twenty-six staff positions is excessive, and everything else stemmed from that,"" he said. ""I think up to $111,313 on rent is an extraordinary number. Considering other organizations that we fund, it was excessive.""
Staude said he supported the vision of the organization.
""I support a more long-term vision,"" he said. ""We implemented all that growth at the same time, and structurally-wise, MCSC cannot handle that. There is not going to be enough oversight to make sure the staff positions are working effectively. The structure is not set up for that.""
Urmanski said DES was another area of concern, especially for him.
""I voted against DES,"" he said. ""Their proposed budget increase was too great, especially without a clear focus. However, we did give an increase to diversity and did it in a way that was fiscally responsible.""
Conversely, Barrows said he was pleased about the increased budget for DES.
""They had a bare minimum budget, but now they can really take off and install an outreach and training program,"" Barrows said. ""They will also be able to facilitate programs with administrators to create a network for students.""
The budget for the MCSC was first presented Oct. 24, followed by two meetings largely devoted to a budget decision for the group. Theresa Vidaurri, vice chair of MCSC, deemed the process necessary, but she expressed concern over the tardiness of some SSFC members.
""Some members showed up late and did not understand our whole proposal,"" she said. ""They just had numbers in front of them, instead of looking at the services behind the numbers.""
Overall, MCSC and DES members said they are excited about their budgets for next school year, Barrows said.
""I really hope people get involved and try different things and go to events that we put on,"" he said.
Vidaurri said she thought the additional funding would allow the organization to ""take off.""
""I think we can do pretty much anything,"" she said. ""Our events are going to go up, are campaigns are going to go up. We hope to put on a one-month multicultural workshop to get new students involved and active with students of color. It will offer a situation where you can meet students from all backgrounds to make interaction easier and promote greater cultural appreciation.\
