In an interview with The Spectrum, Student Association (SA) Treasurer and junior accounting major John Martin discussed SA's expenditures for the Fall 2007 semester and hinted at Spring Fest acts to come in the spring.
The Student Mandatory Activity Fee accounts for about $2.7 million - just under 90 percent of the yearlong SA budget.
"Think $79.75 times about 19,000 people," Martin said.
The SA ledger, found online at www.sa.buffalo.edu under the "budget" section of "club finances," is divided into many sections. For example, entertainment, staffing and stipends, miscellaneous and club expenditures are some of the notable categories.
Martin explained that two of the biggest disbursements this semester were for entertainment and clubs.
Entertainment accounts for the SA Film Series, concerts, speakers and the DJ series, as well as Fall Fest and Spring Fest. Martin said that SA's expenditures for entertainment this semester were "a little over budget."
Many students, like Asaf Nisim, a junior music major, didn't seem to mind.
"It's important that they spend a lot of entertainment," Nisim said. He added that it was exciting to see the number of different music acts that came to campus this semester.
"Plenty of other organizations on campus overspend on things that aren't as important," Nisim said.
Others, like Joe Tortorici, a senior economics major, thought that their money could have been better spent on activities that appealed to more of the student body.
"I didn't reap any of the benefits from that," Tortorici said. "I didn't attend anything."
On larger expenditures, Martin explained one reason for the extra costs associated with this year's Fall Fest, an event that accounted for about $350,000 of the SA budget under the entertainment section.
"We had to move indoors," Martin said, explaining that a forecast for rain caused the SA executive board's decision to move the Fest inside Alumni Arena. The move set added to the $170,000 production cost for the semester.
The Student Stipends section amounted to about $55,000. Martin said that at $12,000 per year, his stipend comes to about minimum wage.
"Considering how much work we put in, it's not that much," Martin said.
Some other ledger sections of note: "miscellaneous" at $14,962, "projects" at $12,275, and "staff development" at $13,549. With these additional expenditures labeled vaguely, some students are left to question where their funds are being spent.
"I like the concerts, but where is the rest of it going?" asked Krystle Lennon, a sophomore legal studies major.
Martin explained that sections containing "unallocated resources" have funds that may or may not be used for the designated categories in the future, depending on the needs of SA and its clubs.
Some funds are allocated additional resources based on need, Martin said. He added that the "office budget" section, which contains an "unallocated" $20,000, is "not the only place where there's some left over."
At the conclusion of the interview, Martin admitted that the SA executive board's current project is searching out "a hip-hop act, barring any big rock acts like the Foo Fighters" for Spring Fest.
"Would people want to see another comedy show, or another act like the Gym Class Heroes? We're weighing the pros and cons right now," Martin said.
Megan Delia, a freshman undecided major, prefers a hip-hop act.
"Why does it have to be rock acts? It should be eclectic," Delia said. She went on to suggest Soulja Boy. "It's a good way to keep people interested."
Previously, SA staff members claimed in a Visions article that a student who attended all of the major entertainment acts for the semester would be getting $596 in value out of their $79.75 activity fee. Martin stood behind the claim.
"If you go out and try, you can easily get a thousand dollars' worth of your Student Mandatory Activity Fee. I did every year I've been at UB."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
