Hole in budget affects student activities

Students are growing anxious over the lack of campus-wide amenities since the recent budget woes.

The University is still trying to find a way to supplement Activity and Service fees funding that was held in order to pay off a budget deficit of $500, 000, according to information from the office of the Student Government Association comptroller.

The holding of the funds has caused the school to leave some aspects of campus under improved.

SGA is responsible for delegating funds for activities.

“I am part of the Junior Class Cabinet and we always try to have events to bring the students together in either the Rattlers Den or the bowling alley, but both places are just so discouraging,” said Rachel Hill, a junior business administration student from Orlando.

With recent cuts the University has had to forgo improvement projects, which is drawing the ire of students.

Hill said the dilapidated conditions of campus sites like the Rattlers Den have brought regular attendance to a halt.

“How can you excite people to come and bowl at a place where there are no snacks available or where the bowling lanes don’t even work?” Hill said. “The equipment is outdated and simple things like table legs need to be fixed. In the Rattlers Den, TVs aren’t working, and there are limited games available.”

SGA officials said each organization is responsible for turning in all paperwork to receive necessary funds. The budget is built according to need, so if one organization does not ask for money, more money will be available for others.

Frank Williams, 19, a sophomore engineering student from Detroit, said most organizations turn in all paperwork and receive the full amount they ask for but may not be using the money in the right way.

“Organizations are getting the money they ask for, it’s just the matter of spending the money properly,” Williams said. “If there is broken equipment in the bowling alley, I’m sure they were allocating money to fix these things. It’s all about how you budget.”

At the end of the fiscal year all money that was not spent is open for organizations to use.

“Last year money was left over and many things were renovated and purchased,” said Junior Class Cabinet member Melissa Jackson, 22, a junior business student from Baltimore. “I remember the food court getting new TVs and the dorms and the TV room getting new furniture. So if any organization or activity needs money, I don’t see how they can’t get it with all the money accessible.”