USG account running short this year

By CINDY KOONS
and TRACY WILSON
Collegian Staff Writers

Times are tough for the Undergraduate Student Government.

Nearing the midpoint of Spring Semester, the USG account is lower than the expectations set by last year's administration's budget, USG Senate President John Wood said.

"Earlier in the year, we overcommitted to funding student projects," Town Senator Tom Donohoe said. "Many senators, including myself, were not experienced and didn't know we'd run out of funding by the end of the year."

The senate has $6,800 in its unrestricted account, excluding the $5,300 it is allocating for its annual elections and transition dinner, said Evan Breslow, USG financial manager.

Several senators disagreed with senate's decision to pass $700 for year-end gifts and $2,500 for the transition dinner because of low funds.

"I didn't vote for the dinner," Pollock/Nittany Senator Collette Pees said.

"I'm disappointed we're spending $700 on gifts for ourselves. I didn't get into this to get gifts at the end of the year. The money is for helping students, not for patting ourselves on the back."

Tuesday night, in an attempt to conserve funds, the senate voted against spending $400 to send USG President Caroline Casagrande and USG Supreme Court Justice Jessika Rovell to a Big Ten conference in Washington, D.C., to lobby for student financial aid.

"I don't think we felt the need to send Caroline and Jessica down to D.C.," Town Senator Christian Jones said. "We don't have very much money right now, and if an organization came to us with a legitimate concern and we couldn't fund it because we sent Caroline down to schmooze with officials that would be pretty embarrassing."

Casagrande was disappointed the senate did not appropriate funds for the trip.

All Big Ten schools are sending delegates except the University of Michigan and the senate soon will be receiving revenue from spring break bus sales, Casagrande said.

"(USG funds) are in better shape than anyone is anticipating right now," Casagrande said. "(The) senate has no part in fund raising. They have little concept in how much is coming in. They just spend."