BAS upset with funding amount

Members of the Black Action Society protested a Student Government Board decision to deny BAS… Members of the Black Action Society protested a Student Government Board decision to deny BAS a portion of its request at the board’s meeting Thursday.

“It’s very disheartening to see you guys deny this money,” former Black Action Society President Lawrence Crockett said to SGB members during the open forum portion of Thursday’s meeting.

BAS submitted a budget asking for $173,267.26. Allocations initially recommended approving $90,120.71, deferring $86,449 and denying $965.

The board overturned the allocation committee’s initial recommendation, instead giving BAS $104,120.71, deferring $60,342 and denying $12,890.

Deferred funding is money that the board doesn’t initially grant an organization, but that the group may spend if it doesn’t spend money allocated for an approved event. Groups may not spend approved funding on events for which the board denied funding.

“There was nothing personal involved with this,” SGB President Joe Pasqualichio said. “A select few members of BAS made it personal.”

Some felt that the decision sent a negative message overall to the University’s black community.

“This university is not a very welcoming university. The Student Government Board sitting before you does not represent you … and this student government can’t be held accountable,” BAS member Derrick Cephas said to the crowd Thursday night.

Others expressed concern that the decision to give BAS less money than last year reflects a lack of confidence in the leadership of BAS.

“I feel as though the message sent was ‘We’re not going to reward organizations that are doing better’ … and I feel like we were penalized with no solid reason behind it,” Black Action Society President Mario Dones said in an interview yesterday.

SGB members emphasized in their end-of-meeting remarks that the decision was not made for personal reasons but in an attempt to be fiscally responsible.

“It did cross my mind that they’d take it as a message that we didn’t think the group was doing as good a job … but it has no reflection on how we think they’re doing,” Pasqualichio said in an interview Saturday. “This was a decision to protect the other groups that didn’t submit budgets.”

Student organizations that do not submit budgets rely on supplemental funding to finance their events throughout the year. This year, after allocating money for groups that submitted budgets, SGB is left with approximately half the amount last year’s board had left for supplemental requests.

With SGB’s decisions to give Student Life-affiliated groups – BAS, Asian Student Alliance, Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Panhellenic Council, Resident Student Association and SGB – a total of $406,310.66, the total given to all student organizations in budgets – including those of about a hundred smaller groups – comes to $814, 287.86.

That amount, along with about $300,000 in overhead and the $1,070,049.74 given to former formula groups – Pitt Program Council, WPTS, Panther Prints, Telefact and Student Volunteer Outreach – brings the total that SGB has allocated to $2,184,337.60 of the $2.3 million Student Activities Fee fund.

What’s left, along with anything groups didn’t spend out of last year’s budgets – an amount that SGB won’t know until the end of the fiscal year – remains available for supplemental requests.

“We probably gave out too much money in budgets to begin with,” Pasqualichio said. “Now we’re in a position where we have a lack of supplemental funding.”

Dones felt that the board should have worked to find a solution that allows more money for BAS while still reserving enough money for smaller student groups.

“[SGB] should leave room in the budget for larger groups that are a vital part of student life on campus,” Dones said. “You have to make room for supplementals but you also have to make room for your traditional organizations.”

Some felt that by denying BAS part of the money it requested, SGB was working against efforts to improve black retention rates at the University.

“An organization essential to black retention rates is being denied large sums of money by the Student Government Board,” Crockett said.

SGB members acknowledged the importance of black retention, but said that they felt BAS’ budget is sufficient for diversity programming.

“SGB’s responsibility for retention rates is to give them enough funding from them to put on events that are going to make these students feel at home, feel comfortable,” Pasqualichio said. “We’ve given them the ability to move money to deferred events without coming to SGB. They’re creative, they can handle it.”

Earlier this year, the board made a decision to allow former governance groups – such as BAS and the ASA – to move money from approved events to deferred events with only the approval of their advisers, not SGB.

During the meeting, Pasqualichio said that University administrators should take some responsibility for retention rates. His comment was met with loud laughter from the crowd.

“Admissions will get people here, but it’s up to the organizations and students to keep them here,” Dones said yesterday.

Pasqualichio said Saturday that he thinks his remarks were misunderstood.

“Retention rates are a big undertaking, and they require a lot of time and effort,” he said. “They took what I said as I was dismissing them, but I was saying I need help … We need to join together.”