UW-Madison recreational facilities like the Natatorium and the SERF will become more open to students, thanks to ample funding approved at the Student Services Finance Committee's meeting Monday in Memorial Union.
A $80,000 feasibility study for the Wisconsin Union Recreational Sports Budget for the 2005-'06 school year is \going to help places like the Nat and SERF to be used more,"" said UW-Madison junior and SSFC At-Large Representative Henry Gomez.
The vote was not without contention, however.
""My own intuition tells me we should [recommend to] cut it,"" said UW-Madison sophomore and SSFC At-Large Representative Erica Christenson. ""Students that are going to pay for it are not going to benefit directly from it.""
The second budget decision concerned the Wisconsin Union.
Gomez questioned an ""upward of $40,000 increase"" in Wisconsin Union Directorate Social Education, the area of the Wisconsin Union composed of Music Committee, Film Committee, Distinguished Lecture Series, Hoofers and Wisconsin Union Theater.
""It's probably a realization of the fact that Hoofers and the Wisconsin Union Theater just recently came under the UW budget and we're still trying to figure out how to adjust to that,"" Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier said.
""I think he made it pretty clear that they're not even covering all of the expenses; they're actually looking for other revenue [for the programs],"" said UW-Madison freshman and SSFC At-Large Representative Mike Puerner. ""I think that's pretty fiscally responsible of them.""
Ultimately, the budget passed by a 4-1-1 vote.
The next order of business was a referendum of the ASM constitution for the SSFC, creating an official chancellor's appointee position to bring the official number of SSFC voting members to 17; it passed unanimously.
Only eight of the 16 SSFC voting members were present at Monday's meeting; UW-Madison junior and SSFC Chair Janell Wise said she was disappointed with attendance.
""This is essentially our last meeting of the year,"" Wise said.
Wise said the SSFC's next important order of business is to decide what to do with reserve money UW-Madison organizations have from past years, an amount that could ""possibly be upwards of a million dollars.""
Proposal forms are now available to the general UW-Madison student population and are due Feb. 28, 2005.
