Many campus groups fearing a loss of state funding redoubled their efforts to claim part of the estimated $8 million the Student Fee Review Board can distribute as it sees fit.
At forums Monday and Tuesday in the SUB, representatives from African-American Student Services, American Indian Student Services, El Centro de la Raza, the Office of International Program Support, PIRG, the Student Health and Counseling Center, and the UNM Children's Campus argued about why they deserved a part of the more than $500 each UNM student pays in student fees.
Some of these departments receive funding from student fees every year, while others, including African-American Student Services, American Indian Student Services, the Office of International Program Support and El Centro de la Raza, receive funding only when the SFRB recommends it.
With the possibility that state funding to these departments might be completely cut, many representatives voiced concerns about their organization's ability to exist without the funding received from student fees.
Stephanie Rattler, tutorial director for
African-American Student Services, said that with the potential loss of state funding, African-American Student Services would struggle to continue serving the University.
"As all of us I'm sure are feeling the effects of the budget cut," she said, "this might be the only place where we'll be able to receive our funds. It's really important to me that you consider us, because we might not be able to exist. We're still up in the air with what is going to happen with all the cuts."
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The consideration that some organizations might not be able to function will weigh heavily on the minds of SFRB members when they are making their funding recommendations, said ASUNM Sen. Lesley McKinney.
"In my opinion, that would be a huge factor in decision making," she said. "It is our responsibility to serve the students, and we do know that all of these groups that apply for funding do a great service to the students."
ASUNM President Ashley Fate said the SFRB will take the possibility of these budget cuts into consideration but that the board does not necessarily agree that these departments would not be able to function without the funds from the SFRB.
"We don't fully fund the whole department," she said. "We fund specific programs. If we took away their funding, their department would still be operational. We don't do operational costs; that's not our job. Our job is to fund specific programs, and really we're intended to jump-start programs. That's not what it's become. Now it's become consistent funding."
Fate said some of the departments that receive recurring funding include SHAC, Popejoy Hall, student government, accounting and athletics.
"If (these departments) continue to serve students, they are guaranteed the funding they had from the year before," she said.
However, the SFRB does not have the final say in the allocation of the funds collected through student fees, Fate said. Their recommendations are submitted to the Board of Regents, which has the authority to accept or change the amount of allocations.
"We're just a recommendation board," Fate said. "We're not the final say, and that's a common misconception about the SFRB. We don't set policy - what we say does not automatically go into effect. We recommend a certain dollar amount, an allocation or a lump sum based on the (Full-Time Equivalency), and make recommendations on how they can improve their department based on what we've seen in the past."
Lissa Knudsen, a GPSA representative for the SFRB, said whatever cuts the Legislature makes will affect the University and students regardless of what the board can do.
"I think it's also very important to state that these type of cuts should not fall back on the students," Knudsen said. "I think that the administration has the responsibility to show where their values are by where they spend their money."
The SFRB, which is composed of members from ASUNM and GPSA, recommended funding allocations last year for 22 departments that amounted to $8.34 million.
Fate said each department requesting funding is asked to fill out an application detailing its history and future plans. The SFRB then goes through a series of hearings at which each department is asked to present its request and give an overview of department activities, she said.
All departments are eligible to request funding from the SFRB to assist the programs and services they provide to the University, Fate said. However, student organizations are not eligible for funding under this process.
