The GUSA Funding Board approved a proposal for allocation of the proceeds of the recently approved student activities fee yesterday, distributing the largest amount of money to the Student Activities Commission.

SAC received approximately $22,500 or 15 percent of the total. Twenty-one thousand dollars or 14 percent was given to the Media Board and $20,000 or about 13 percent was given to GUSA. Both Volunteer and Public Services and the Performing Arts Advisory Council received 13 percent with $19,500. The Advisory Board for Club Sports was allocated over 12 percent of the fund with $19,000. GERMS and GPB received $9,000 and $7,000, respectively. Hoya Blue received $5,000 and InterHall also received $5,000.

Three percent of the funds raised will be placed in a reserve fund to provide contingency finances for special circumstances, such as a group that spends more than its allocated budget.

The decisions are not final until the GUSA Assembly approves them. The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the issue in tonight’s meeting.

“I hope the GUSA Assembly will support the vote of the Funding Board because the people who divided the money are the experts,” GUSA President Tawan Davis (COL ’01) said. “GUSA should first be critical of them, but then secondly, they should trust the process.”

Much of the debate at the meeting focused on the requests from organizations, like Hoya Blue, InterHall and GERMS who are not currently part of a funding board and would like to receive money, all of which eventually did. The funds were allocated on the basis of a series of guidelines approved at Wednesday’s meeting. These criteria include benefits to the on-campus university community, benefits to students participating in off-campus activities and a record of efficient expenditure of funds. The board will also take into account the possibility for new programming, the availability of alternative revenue sources, use of the current year’s capital improvement funds and whether funding is adequate to meet current programming needs.

Representatives of student activities expressed mixed feelings about the decision.

“I realized that other boards got more money than GPB did because their necessities were more essential than ours,” GPB chair Randy Rivera (COL ’02) said. “Everyone there would have wanted more money, but I think we got a good foundation for collaborating with other groups.”

“I am satisfied with the fact that we got money, it is better than nothing … but it was way below the original $10,000 we wanted,” InterHall President Heath Carter (COL ’03) said. “I’m disappointed that it will not be enough money to meet the expenses for programs we wanted to do.”

Davis said he was “very excited” with the outcome of the meeting.

“People were very professional and I think everyone got budgets they can live with … everyone will be able to increase money per club,” he said.