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Rutgers University Student Assembly finalizes $108K operating budget

Out of the Rutgers University Student Assembly's operating budget, $525,000 is designated for allocation to student organizations around campus. The assembly currently funds more than 300 Rutgers organizations, ranging from Rutgers Hillel to the Queer Student Alliance. – Photo by Jeffrey Gomez

The new members of the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) Allocations Board, along with four advisors, worked for over 18 hours to determine the distribution of $525,000 to more than 300 student organizations.

Their final product, as well as RUSA’s proposed 2017 operating budget, was presented to the body at the Assembly’s meeting Thursday night, at which both were approved. The money will be transferred to the organizations in January.

RUSA’s 2017 operating budget has a projected cost of around $108,000. The executive board is requesting $105,000 from RUSA Allocations and expects their significant rollover from last fiscal year’s budget to cover the remainder of the cost.

With input from their advisor, Treasurer Shannon Chang, President Evan Covello and Vice President Christie Schweighardt decided not to cut a percentage out of the budget this year. Instead, they will assess the Assembly’s monetary situation after six months and decide if it is necessary to return a portion of the money to Allocations.

Chang, a Rutgers Business School junior, said that the new executive board is setting money aside for a few new initiatives.

“I spoke with Evan and Christie and everyone on the e-board, and we have a few large scale initiatives for the upcoming year, so we wanted to make sure we have adequate expenses for that,” she said.

Chang said one initiative RUSA is allocating money toward is a collaboration with the Rutgers University Police Department to implement cameras in prominent off-campus streets like Huntington and Delafield on the College Avenue campus.

“We worked off of previous years’ budgets to create what I thought would be an adequate amount (of money) for each section,” she said.

At over $100,000, the Assembly receives a significantly larger portion of RUSA’s allocated funds than any other student organization. With that said, more than $500,000 is planned to be distributed amongst Rutgers’ nearly 300 clubs and groups, all of which are funded by a portion of Rutgers' student fees.

Michelle Boyland, the chairperson of RUSA Allocations and a Rutgers Business School senior, told The Daily Targum earlier this year that each organization submits applications to the RUSA Allocations Board for the funding of two of their priority events. 

The request includes an estimated amount of money and the specific aspects of the event that are being funded, with are thoroughly analyzed by the board. 

Two of the organizations that will receive the highest amount of funding are the Livingston Theatre Company and the Rutgers Commuter Student Association, at $25,000 and $24,010 respectively. 

Other organizations that are at the top of the list in terms of allocations are the student radio station 90.3 Core and Rutgers University Alternative Breaks.

90.3 Core will be receiving $21,388.00, and Alternative Breaks will be receiving  $20,813.00.


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