Cuts in Child Care Funding

The 2011-2012 Undergraduate Student Government’s contract with Stony Brook Child Care Services, which reflects a 42 percent funding cut, was approved during Thursday’s Student Senate meeting.

The USG’s subsidy for SBCCS was cut from $37,000 last year to $21,250 this year. The money goes toward the facility’s operating budget, which allows the service fee to stay affordable, SBCCS’s Business Manager Debra Scarfogliero said.

SBCCS is a not-for-profit early childhood education center that provides childcare for the university’s staff, students and for the community.

During the meeting, Sen. Sean Moore raised concerns about USG’s role on funding the organization.

“I was wondering if the USG should be in the business of providing childcare to a very small select number of our students who happen to have children,” Moore said.

The facility currently provides service for about 160 families. Scarfogliero estimates that about 20 percent of those are university students, but the number could not be confirmed as of press time.

Even with the subsidy cut, the agency’s board decided not to increase fees this year, Scarfogliero said.

USG Conference

More than 200 student government representatives from across the state are meeting in Latham, N.Y., this weekend for SUNY’s Student Assembly Fall Conference.

The event is taking place from Friday, Oct. 28, to Sunday, Oct. 30, and among many things, it will feature leadership workshops, discussions on several university issues, and a Q&A with SUNY’s Chief Financial Officer Brian Hutzley.

“Collectively, the delegates are supposed to determine the policy goals of the Assembly and make connections to better serve our respective constituencies,” said USG Vice President Deborah Machalow.

Besides Machalow, USG President Mark Maloof, Chief of Justice Moiz K. Malik and Sen. David Adams will be representing Stony Brook at the conference.

Badminton Club Now Official

The USG recognized a new badminton club during the senate meeting on Thursday.

The 80-member club has been active for a year, but as more students keep joining the group, they decided to apply for recognition to be eligible for future funding.

Badminton Club’s President Amy Cheung said the members have been struggling to keep the club active due to lack of funding and playing space on campus.

“We need money to buy more rackets because the school’s racquets are very old, and we also need mats,” Cheung said. “[And] we have a lot of difficulties because we don’t have playing space here.”

Cheung’s club is not the only one having trouble with lack of space on campus. Several sports clubs have raised concerns about the problem for the past few weeks. A rally in support for the cause, which was supposed to happen last week, was rescheduled for this Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m. in front of the Administration building.

The new Badminton Club meets three times a week, and because of the large number of members, it usually splits up in groups and some members play in the arena while others go to the racquetball courts.