MSA doles funds to student groups

By Jane Krull

Daily Staff Reporter

In the spirit of Election Day, the Michigan Student Assembly held a mock presidential election at its meeting last night.

"If MSA is a microcosm of the rest of society, Al Gore will win in a landslide," MSA Vice President Jim Secreto said.

The assembly votes totaled 18 for Vice President Al Gore, three for Texas Governor George W. Bush and one each for Libertarian candidate Harry Browne and Green candidate Ralph Nader.

Despite the mock election, the meeting's main event was voting on the Budget Priorities Committee recommendations for allocating $88,995 to various student organizations.

The recommendations passed 23-1, with only one attempted amendment.

Peace and Justice Committee Chair Jessica Curtin tried to amend the amount of funding given to the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action from $300 to $600, but the assembly voted the amendment down.

Curtin said the increase in funding was necessary to reimburse members who spent their personal money on activities during Affirmative Action 102.

The two groups that received the largest funding were Dance Marathon and the Indian American Student Association with $1,500 each. K-Grams followed with $1,450 and La Voz Mexicana was given $1,300.

MSA gave the Detroit Project $1,200 and Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality received $1,000.

Another source of funding for student groups is LSA-Student Government.

LSA-SG budget recommendations allocated $18,327 to student groups. The groups allocated the most amount of funds from LSA-SG were similar to those that topped MSA's BPC allocations.

Additionally, the groups with significant funding were New Currents Magazine and Alpha Phi Omega, which received $500 each and the Midwest Asian American Students Conference receiving $450.

LSA-SG also proposed $2,500 to Departmental Student Club funding. The proposal relies on the LSA Dean's Office to add $5,000 to the proposed amount.

The Departmental Student Club provides programming that helps students in selecting departmental classes and guidance when choosing a concentration.

After three weeks of watching from the sidelines, MSA President Hideki Tsutsumi returned to chairing the MSA meeting last night.

Tsutsumi seemed more confident while he conducted the meeting after watching Student General Counsel Alok Agrawal chair the last few meetings.

"It felt good," said Tsutsumi of returning to his role.

Also at last night's MSA meeting Rules and Elections Committee Chair Ryan Whiteherse announced the removal of three more assembly members due to lack of attendance.

Kinesiology Rep. Lauren Johnson and LSA Reps. Amit Pandya and Rodolfo Palma-Lulion were removed for acquiring 12 absences during their year-long term on the assembly.