After limited financial resources restricted Student Council's allocation of funds to Contracted Independent Organizations last spring, many groups on Grounds are struggling to survive the year on a tight budget.
"There was a shortage of money last year," said Eli DeJarnette, Council vice president of student organizations. "Essentially all CIO funds were cut."
Of the over 250 CIOs, 19 organizations appealed to Council to request funds in addition to those initially allocated. Council granted 11 appeals and ultimately allocated around $13,000 to those groups.
However, several organizations' appeals for additional funds were denied by the appropriations committee for various reasons.
"Those who got money were happy, those who didn't get money didn't turn their budgets in on time," DeJarnette said.
One group that lost funds is the club volleyball team. Due to a communication breakdown among team officials, the volleyball team was not represented at the appropriations committee hearing and consequently did not receive funding.
According to volleyball team representative Al Arrington, the team still exists despite limited resources. The team now has to resort to hosting its own tournament to raise funds and faces numerous setbacks as a result of losing funds.
"It's hard to get gym time since we're not a recognized CIO," Arrington said.
Since the budget usually is spent on tournament registration, hotels and other travel expenses, the volleyball team won't be able to travel this year, which means the team can't compete for the national title.
The club gymnastics team faced a similar plight with decreased funds, despite the fact that it met appropriations deadlines.
Gymnastics team member Sarah Cary criticized the appeals process, claiming that team treasurer Christine Diffell was not given a fair chance to present her case to the committee.
Cary said that it will be difficult for the gymnastics team to deal with depleted funds.
"The team is expanding, but we have less money," Cary said. "The committee doesn't realize how much the team has to pay just to practice."
Cary also noted that it will be difficult to fund the team's trip to nationals this year.
Former Council Appropriations Committee Chair Guru Raj said he thought last spring's meeting went very well.
"I think the committee was successful in allocating limited funds," Raj said.
However, Raj was apologetic toward organizations that did not receive funds they requested, but praised them for coming to the meeting.
"I think it demonstrated student self-governance in action," Raj said.
According to DeJarnette, changes are being made to the appellate process, including the addition of a second appeals night in the spring.
The Appropriations Committee also is looking to institute a revised system of penalizing CIOs that turn in budgets late. The current system provides for a 2 percent deduction of funds for each minute a budget is late.
DeJarnette said he views such a deduction as overly harsh.
"The system is always being updated," DeJarnette said. "It is never 100 percent perfect."
According to DeJarnette, it is impossible to predict how much each student organization will need. However, he said the process demands planning and leadership development by student groups.
"It makes groups stronger, which is better for the University," DeJarnette said.
He added that this year will be easier for student groups, as there will be more money to be allocated.
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