The Associated Students of Madison approved the General Student Services Fund Wednesday with little debate.
The new GSSF budget will increase funds for nine groups while decreasing funds for four. It will also create funds for the Wisconsin Student Lobby and the Working Class Student Union.
ASM denied funding to the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, CALS Student Council, Engineers Without Borders, Legal Information Center and Vets for Vets.
The only item debated was the denial of funds to Engineers Without Borders.
Student Services Finance Committee Chair Kurt Gosselin said the group was denied funding because their efforts serve only its members while failing to serve other students.
Gosselin then went on to explain several items of contention, including why Vets for Vets was denied funding.
These are probably the most scrutinized dollars on campus '¦ but I would like to see some discussion. These were not all passed [through SSFC] with unanimity,"" he said.
Representative Dakota Kaiser believed Vets for Vets should receive funding, but ASM decided to pass the budget with a vote of 8-0-6.
Also discussed at Wednesday's meeting was the addition of a new position to ASM's Press Office. The office currently employs three students, but member Claire Lempke will fill the new position of Press Office Media Specialist.
There was never a nominations process for this position and instead ASM Chair Brittany Wiegand recommended Lempke for the job.
There was some question as to whether ASM should skip the nominations process, which Wiegand said would take at least three to four weeks, but they concluded that it was acceptable.
""We need someone now '¦. this isn't circumventing the bylaws because ASM makes the appointments anyway,"" Gosselin said.
More details from the Wednesday meeting can be found on The Daily Cardinal's Campus News Blog at dailycardinal.typepad.com.
