All 3,953 members of Butler University’s student body pay $144 each semester in student activity fees.
Of this $144, about $90 goes to fund Butler’s Student Government Association.
The full budget, which has been voted on by members of the assembly every week since the first meeting on Sept. 14, has been finalized—that is, unless members of assembly motion to make any amendments to said budget.
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Class Allocations Budget: $5,500
Class allocations budget became a highly debated line item when a motion to add $4,000 from the cushion was made.
Senior class president Chris Beaman said that the extra funding would go toward class activities, a budget item that often gets underfunded, he said.
“I feel like if we had this extra money, it would allow us to feel more comfortable when we start planning these events,” Beaman said.
Beaman said class officers often don’t feel like they have enough money to properly plan events that would appeal to the student body, so sometimes, the money just stays in the budget to roll over for the next year.
“If no one is using the money you have now, why would you need more?” Alliance representative Taylor Meador said at the Sept. 21 assembly.
Beaman explained that the extra funding would allow he and fellow class officers to instill traditions within each class, such as the senior class’s annual wine-tasting event.
After a discussion lasting nearly 15 minutes, the motion was approved, more than doubling the amount in the current budget.
Also included in this budget:
Candidate publicity funds: $1,500
This money is used for those students running for class offices as a stipend for advertising and campaign materials.
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Council on Presidential Affairs: $12,000
The Council on Presidential Affairs works with its general operating budget of $12,000.
“Our mission is to make Butler a better place for students and to take concerns from them to make a positive contribution to campus,” CPA chair Mike Tirman said.
Through coffee chats, breakfasts with the president and CPA’s topic of the week, Tirman said the organization acts as a liaison between the administration and the other students on campus.
The budget, which increased by $5,000 from last year’s budget, will also help cut the costs of a new CPA event, Green Summit, which will explain to organizations how to be more sustainable and will feature a “green comedian.”
So far, 45 of Butler’s 150 student organizations have signed up to participate in the Oct. 7 event in the Reilly Room.
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SGA Expenses: $115,957
SGA expenses make the up the second-biggest portion of the budget and helps cover executive board member stipends, the presidential initiative and retreats.
At the Sept. 14 meeting, representatives questioned both the stipend portion of the budget and the presidential initative.
SGA President Al Carroll receives a $700 stipend for his work with SGA, while vice presidents receive $500 and the assembly parliamentarian receives $300.
Tirman and Al both spoke to the issue, saying that their positions on the board would keep them from otherwise holding part-time jobs.
“I work eight hours a day on things for CPA,” Tirman said. “It clearly takes the place of a part-time job.”
Also included in this budget:
Presidential Initiative: $14,000
SGA Retreats: $12,957
Welcoming Week, the first six weeks of programming: $30,000
Off-campus shuttles: $51,000
