Heather R. Gabel
Daily Lobo Columnist
It may be hard to believe but we are beginning the third week of classes and everything on campus is in full swing.
I'm sure your notebooks are already getting thicker and your first highlighter marks are beginning to fade. The beginning of the fall semester also marks the opportunity for returning student organizations to recharter and new student organizations to discover the paper trail that will lead them into the fabulous world of becoming a chartered student organization.
If you are a continuing chartered student organization you should have received a chartering packet from the Student Activities Office in the mail. If you have not received the packet, or are a new student organization, you can pick one up at the Activities Office in the Student Services Center, Room 280. You must also send two of your officers to attend one of the mandatory chartering workshops. There is a schedule in the packet or you may obtain a copy from the Activities Office.
You may be asking yourself what is the benefit of chartering our organization? Well, as a chartered student organization you will be given the opportunity to have your information published in a student organization guide put out by the Activities Office, have your information available on their Web site, be eligible to obtain a club e-mail account and list serve through CIRT and maybe best of all you are eligible to receive money from ASUNM.
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The ASUNM legislative branch is currently in the middle of the fall budget process so I would like to take this opportunity to explain how it works. The fall budget process can be used by organizations that did not receive funding during the previous spring budget process, had their spring budget requests zeroed out by the ASUNM Finance Committee or are a newly chartered student organization that would like to request general operating expenses, (i.e., office supplies, food, copying services, etc.) It also can be used by organizations that received funding in the spring budget process as a way of requesting one-time capital out-lays (equipment with a life expectancy of over 2-3 years.)
In order to participate in the fall budget process your organization will need to attend a mandatory budget workshop that is put on by the ASUNM Finance Committee. There are only two budget workshops left, so you don't have any time to waste! There is one Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Dane Smith Hall, Room 125 and one Thursday at 6 p.m. in Dane Smith Hall, Room 123. During these workshops you will receive the fall budget packet and instructions on how to complete the appropriate forms and how the process will work.
After the budget workshop your organization will need to decide what funding they would like to request. There are helpful instructions in the packet and you can contact an ASUNM Senator at 277-5528 with any questions that may arise.
All completed budget request forms are due to the ASUNM office by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11. Once all the forms are received, the ASUNM Finance Committee will assign your organization a time to appear before the committee during a mandatory budget hearing held on Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sept. 28. The times of each organizations budget hearing will be posted outside the ASUNM Office in the Student Services Center, Room 262 by noon on Friday, Sept. 13.
During your budget hearings be ready to speak about your organization and why you are requesting funding. Don't be upset if some of your requests are lowered because of limitations on funding set by the ASUNM Finance Committee Standing Rules or to balance the budget. There are a lot of student organizations that can request funding and we have a limited amount of money to distribute between these organizations, but know that the finance committee will do its best to make sure each organization is given a fair share of the pie.
The ASUNM Finance Committee then balances the budget and presents the final budget to the Senate on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m. in the Kiva Auditorium. The budget will be discussed at the full Senate meeting and will be passed as presented, or may be changed by the Senate and then passed.
Once the budget has been passed by the legislative branch, it is sent over to be signed or vetoed by the ASUNM president. If signed by the president, it is sent to the Student Government Accounting Office where your funds are made available to your organization. And that in a brief form is how a student organization maneuvers through the ASUNM Fall budget process.
Heather Gabel is the ASUNM vice president.
