The Student Association Senate approved SA's $2.8 million budget for 2005-2006 on Friday by a unanimous vote of 15-0.
As promised last semester, clubs received a 10 percent increase and entertainment a 45 percent hike over the amount they received last year.
As a percentage of the total budget, however, the proportion of funding budgeted for clubs decreased nearly two percent while entertainment increased by over five percent.
At the same meeting, the Senate also voted to elect Viqar Hussain as Senate chair. Hussain will replace current chair Mazin Kased, who was elected SA treasurer in March.
Current SA Treasurer Jessica Dangler said she feels the budget reflects students' needs, but critics say the budget highlights an SA trend of moving towards entertainment and away from clubs.
Many of the allocations in the budget are along the lines of what SA President Anthony Burgio promised in his original platform.
Out of the three areas Burgio highlighted - clubs, entertainment and office spending - entertainment is getting the biggest boost next year with an increase of 45 percent. Within the entertainment budget, the money for Fall and Spring Fests has been increased by almost $200,000.
According to Dangler, the change doesn't mean SA will be spending much more than it is now on entertainment. Last year, SA under-budgeted for entertainment and, as a result, often needed to transfer funds into entertainment from other areas of the budget.
"We knew (the change) was going to be big, just because we had to transfer so much money," Dangler said. "Honestly, if the budget was ever done correctly, it wouldn't be that much of an increase. That's just poor budget making in prior years."
Dangler added that finally making realistic allocations will help the incoming executive board. "It's going to be a lot easier on them," she said. "They already know what they want to do."
Dela Yador, incoming SA president, said the revamped entertainment budget will add consistency to next year's spending.
"Everything isn't a drastic, out-of-control increase and you don't have to scrap for money," Yador said.
Entertainment now accounts for 28 percent of SA's total budget, up five percent from last year. Yador said he would always rather have the Senate over-budget than under-budget.
"Even though it seems very extreme, this is a very realistic budget," Dangler said.
While the percentage going towards entertainment went up, the overall percentage for clubs took a hit. In terms of individual club budgets, the allocation decreased nearly 1.7 percent, and with club council budgets added in, the decrease is 1.5 percent.
Clubs did get, as promised, a 10 percent increase from their own previous budgets, but because SA's overall budget increased by $454,817, the overall fraction went down. The extra $454,817 came from the increase in the student mandatory fee, which was raised by $10 in a student vote last semester.
Under Burgio's plan, clubs will eventually get a 30 percent raise as the budgets are increased each year for the next four years.
"I'm a big clubs person. I'm a past coordinator, and I like to give clubs as much as possible," Dangler said. "But when you really think about giving clubs a 30 percent increase (all at once), you look at the budget and you see so many attempts at frivolous spending."
Dangler said she wanted to give clubs more money, so the budgets for club coordinators and councils were also increased for next year. To further help clubs, several services that previously needed to be paid for - such as SA vans and sound equipment - will be available for free, she said.
"We gave them what we thought they needed and what we thought they earned for next year," Dangler said. "That's what the finance committee decided."
Some within SA said they were displeased with the final budget. Lorenzo Guzman, outgoing president of the Special Interest, Service, and Hobbies Council, said SA has given itself the false idea that it is a premier entertainment source in Buffalo.
"SA is starting to forget we're not an entertainment industry," Guzman said. "That's not what we are. We are the undergraduate student government."
"Our clubs are more important than our two fests a year," Guzman added.
Guzman said that for the amount of money SA has, its clubs don't get what they deserve. Clubs also provide entertainment along with events and activities that reach out to far more students, he said.
Dangler did a very good job, but "I don't think there's a very fair allocation to the clubs in general," Guzman said.
Other SA staff members like Jim Stanley, president for the Engineering Club Council, feel the new budget is fair and gives clubs a lot of what they deserve.
"A lot of money that doesn't go directly to clubs went to other places that still go to clubs indirectly," Stanley said.
As for the money poured into entertainment, Stanley said he doesn't have a problem with it, and the number of people who attended Saturday's Spring Fest was a sign that the demand is out there.
SA Entertainment also includes the film and speaker series, and many of those cost a lot but are free to students, Stanley added.
Guzman called SA hypocritical for telling clubs in past years they shouldn't pursue big events with money they don't have. Now SA is "trying to force money out of places so we can do it," he said.
Yador said he feels SA is keeping a good balance between clubs and entertainment. "Advocacy is still number one," he said.
When it comes to giving more money to the club coordinators, Guzman said he was in favor of the idea. "It gives a little more authority to the people who really know what's happening," he said.
"The coordinators know where the money is needed, so we can decide where to put it very effectively," Stanley said.
"I think the senators don't know everything about the budget because they are limited in where they came from," Stanley added.
Dangler, who has no voting power in the budget approval process, said "for the most part, it's majority rules. These were the people elected and they did a good job this year."
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
