By Julia Matias

Last week’s release of the once private club budgets has resulted in an investigation of the person suspected of leaking and Student Government Association senators openly showing annoyance of what was revealed.

However, two other consequences have shaken up the long and tedious process of budgets week. Cabinet members are now mending the process and University organizations are expressing their want to be more involved.

In previous semesters, clubs had to create a general proposal for what they think they are going to need for the following school year. According to former comptroller Nathan Yadgar, once all proposals are finished by the due date, the Appropriations Committee lock themselves in for a full day deciding on how to award the budgets to each club.

After a list of the allocated budgets is composed, it is then sent to the senate to be discussed. It is during this time that an executive session is called in, which no one outside of SGA can take part in. There are many disagreements that take place in between, Yadgar explained. Eventually the final list is given to Gina Crance, dean of students, and vice president of student affairs Sandra Johnson to be approved and signed.

Clubs were only ever told of how much money they received at the beginning of the following semester and were never informed of why they received the amount that they did, Angela Sanchez, the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, said.

“In the past, we’ve been nervous about showing [the budgets to the public],” Peter DiSilvio, president of SGA, said. “We’re afraid that people wouldn’t understand the process. People would be angry at us for the decisions that we would make.”

With the recent release of the budgets, clubs are voicing their opinions of such a secretive process and at the same time questioning the money certain clubs were granted.

“There were some clubs that I was shocked was getting more money than we were,” Arthur Tebbel, editor-in-chief of Nonsense magazine, said. “College Republicans get twice as much as we do and they don’t put out magazines. Clubs that define the campus such as Nonsense, The Chronicle and Concerts, should be given more of a say in this process.”

Tebbel continued to say that the process of granting money should be a simple process void of personal objectives.

“[The process] has a motivational effect,” Tebbel said. “It’s not an ideal set-up. There should be a lot more transparency.”

Seth Harris, president of the philosophy club, said that the process has not greatly affected his organization since it was re-activated at the end of the 2006 spring semester and was not able to be a part of budgets week. However, Harris explained that the philosophy club is having trouble getting the money they want.

“I don’t think that the secrecy of the allocation process was helpful, though I couldn’t say positively that it was hurtful either,” Harris said.

Nevertheless, the different reactions from the clubs have pushed the SGA cabinet to meet the demands of the student body.

“Based on the reaction on the article from The Chronicle, people want to know,” DiSilvio said. “We don’t have the right to tell them they can’t know.”

According to DiSilvio, the cabinet voted unanimously on Oct. 13 to make budgets public and to remove the executive session during budgets week. He also said that cabinet knew of the leak prior to the publication. After reviewing the budgets that were leaked and decided that they were incorrect, DiSilvio has given The Chronicle access to the real version.

Sanchez said that she agrees with the decision and hopes that the end result will be positive.

“I don’t see why we should hide the numbers. This is the students’ money and it should be public knowledge,” Sanchez said. “By making it public before the summer comes, I think clubs would be relieved because then they can plan whatever projects that will be going on.”

DiSilvio said that some senators were talking about implementing the cabinet’s decision into the constitution, although no further plans have been discussed.

“I am hopeful that the disclosure of the budget process along with a better regulated allocation procedure will serve to help clubs get the funding and support they deserve,” Harris said.