Contact Us

Advertising

Comics

Crossword

The Arizona Daily Wildcat Online

Catcalls

Policebeat

Search

Archives

News Sports Opinions Arts Classifieds

Thursday February 1, 2001

Basketball site
Pearl Jam

 

Police Beat
Catcalls

 

Alum site

AZ Student Media

KAMP Radio & TV

 

Five clubs to receive funding from ASUA

Headline Photo

BEN DAVIDOFF

Sen. Roby Schapira (left) and ASUA Executive Vice President Erick Negri (right) listen to Sen. Matt Bailey speak about Camp Wildcat at last night's Senate meeting in the Rincon Room.

By Emily Severson

Arizona Daily Wildcat

$9,014.34 approved spending money

A student-published magazine and a dance show were just two of the projects ASUA approved for funding at last night's Senate meeting.

Although the $9,014.34 consent agenda was debated among the Associated Students of the University of Arizona senators for more than an hour, the majority felt the money should go to the five clubs that had requested financial assistance.

Persona, the undergraduate magazine of literature and art, received $2,000 to publish the collaboration of student work.

The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity received $3,000 to host its second annual Ice Train Step Show, to be held in the Memorial Student Union Arizona/Senior Ballroom later this month.

The show will feature step competitions and plans to reward multiple $1,000 scholarships to high school students who wish to attend college.

"This is one of the biggest events any club has on campus," said Dwight Maloney, ASUA Appropriations Board director.

Sen. Roby Schapira said he estimated about 800 UA students would attend the event.

Alternative Breaks - a UA club that sponsors 80 students to perform community service in the Southwest and Mexico during spring break - received $2,832.34. This year, the students will go to California's Santa Catalina Islands, Mexico, Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif. The money will go to travel expenses.

Members of the UA American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics received $750 to help pay for travel expenses to their annual competition in Baltimore, where they will showcase a model airplane they built.

The money will assist in paying for a rental van and the costs of shipping their airplane to the competition.

The last item on the consent agenda was $432 for Camp Wildcat, to help pay for next week's staff training camp. The money will go toward the campsite rental fees and bus travel. Camp Wildcat is an organization that pairs UA students with Tucson's disadvantaged elementary and junior high students.

Sen. Matt Bailey began a debate among the senators when he said he believes ASUA should reconsider their guidelines that set the framework for giving money to clubs such as Camp Wildcat and Alternative Breaks.

"We are not the end all of club funding but we do try to assist the clubs," Bailey said.

Schapira, who also serves as the Appropriations Board chair, said the Senate is constantly told they are hindering clubs when they don't give them all the money they ask for.

"It is ridiculous to say we are hindering anyone by giving them some money, but not all they ask for because that is ridiculous," Schapira said.

Club Advocate Aimee Hemerey said the Senate should keep in mind that the funding they were granting clubs was paid for by student money.

"The money is from the students so they should not feel grateful when they receive it, because it is their money to begin with," Hemerey said. "It is frustrating to see people focus more on money than on the experiences students gain as members of these clubs."

The hour-long discussion ended in the approval of the consent agenda, with three senators abstaining.

Schapira said after the money is allocated to these clubs, ASUA will have $36, 781.51 left for the rest of the semester.

In other business, a member of Club India announced that the organization will be collecting donations of food and money on the Mall this week to help earthquake victims in India. Sameer Nigam, a computer science graduate student, said the club is trying to raise awareness on the UA campus about India.