USG Giving Event Grants

Clubs cannot apply for this year’s fall revision anymore, but the Undergraduate Student Government is still offering them some extra money.

USG is encouraging clubs and organizations at Stony Brook to apply for an event grant. Although “nothing is set in stone yet,” USG Treasurer Thomas Kirnbauer said there is about $90,000 available to help clubs fund events this semester.

The deadline to request a fall revision was Sept. 23. The process will appropriate money reserved by USG for clubs and organizations that think their budgets have been shortchanged in comparison to the previous year.

A deadline to apply for an event grant has not been determined yet, but Kirnbauer said clubs that need additional money for an event should fill out the application on the USG website as early as possible.

Meanwhile, Kirnbauer and the budget committee are deciding how much more money the clubs eligible for fall revision will get. The Student Senate will vote on the adjustments in a meeting on Thursday, Oct. 13.

No More Money for Bowlers

Because of $27, a Stony Brook University club will not have a chance to see its budget cuts restored this year.

USG did not accept the Bowling Club’s application for a budget revision last month because now clubs must have lost at least 40 percent of their budget to be considered for an adjustment – the bowlers’ budget was cut by 39.5 percent.

The Bowling Club’s funding went down to $3,309 this year from $5,470 in 2010. If the USG’s budget committee had reduced only $27 more of the club’s budget, the bowlers would have been eligible for a revision.

Kirnbauer, the USG treasurer, said he and the budget committee decided not to accept the club’s application because doing so “would open the gates” for all clubs that lost less than 40 percent to apply too.

“We felt a line had to be drawn somewhere,” Kirnbauer said. “It wouldn’t be fair to the clubs that were cut by, let’s say, 38.5 percent, because they could have used the same argument that [the] bowling [club] did.”

The club represents Stony Brook in U.S. Bowling Congress sanctioned events. As of press time, the club’s officers have not returned a call for comment.

LGBTA Not Pleased With Its Budget

Another club that was not qualified for a budget revision by a very small percentage was LGBTA.

The budget for Stony Brook’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance was cut by 37 percent. The club’s funding went down from $13,500 last year to almost $8,500 this year.

“The LGBTA is one of the oldest clubs on campus and has consistently put on really good events, and the fact that our budget was cut seems pretty unfair,” said LGBTA’s Vice President Puck Malamud.

Another problem the LGBTA is facing is the new maximum amount that can be used toward hiring a guest speaker. From now on, clubs cannot host a speaker that charges more $2,000, and they can only spend up to $6,000 with speakers every year, according to USG’s new financial bylaws.

Most of LGBTA’s events involve guest speakers, but it also hosts drag shows and musical concerts. Malamud said the club is “hoping to lobby for [a change] as strongly as possible.”

Vice President for Clubs and Organizations Allen Abraham said in a Senate meeting last month that the new limit for speakers will force clubs to “provide on-going events throughout the year, and … not horde funds for one weekend.”

USG Holding Fall Elections

In four weeks, USG will be holding elections for a new vice president of academic affairs and a new freshman representative.

According to a tentative schedule, the last day to enter the race is Oct. 21, and the elections will be held between Oct. 31 and Nov. 4.

According to the USG’s constitution, the vice president of academic affairs is the USG liaison to faculties and the administration, coordinates all USG operations related to academic policy, and ensures that faculty members are “making strong contributions to student development, inside and outside the classroom.”

A freshman representative is responsible for representing the class’ interests to the USG and planning “appropriate programs to meet the needs of their constituents,” as written in the USG’s constitution.

USG will hold two information sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 4 and 5.