Student organizations that went before ASUNM asking for advertising funds this weekend found their allocation requests cut drastically.
The College Greens asked for $1,146 to advertise in the Daily Lobo and received $162. The Biomedical Engineering Society asked for $1,088 and received $251.
Lori Gallegos, co-chair of the College Greens, said the biggest cut to their budget request was money for advertising in the Daily Lobo.
"All the money we asked for was really important," she said. "Ads in the Lobo are really important."
Gallegos said advertising helps get students to participate in events and aids member recruitment.
She said the funding decrease means the group will have to make cuts in other areas, such as bringing in speakers, so it can advertise in the Daily Lobo.
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"They're just determined to take from advertising," she said. "It's interesting they decided to take from advertising, because it seems like a lot of groups rely on the Lobo to get information out to other students."
At the ASUNM finance committee meeting on Saturday, student Sen. David Steele, a member of the committee, said it's hard for ASUNM to give money to the Lobo for advertising.
"It's hard to justify so much money when the Lobo already gets a percentage of student fees," he said.
Steele said there is not enough money to go around. ASUNM is not against giving the student groups money, he said.
"Advertising prices are so high," he said. "There is just not enough money to give out."
Marisa Magallanez, ad manager for the Daily Lobo, said the Lobo offers discounted rates for groups on campus. A one-eighth page ad at the campus rate is $89.50, compared to the regular rate of $134.50. A full-page ad at the campus rate is $716. At the regular price, a full-page ad is $1076.
She said advertising in the Lobo is the most effective way to get the word out.
"It's a great marketing tool," she said.
She said it's inexpensive considering how many people the advertisements reach.
"Ads in the Lobo are way more effective than passing out fliers on campus," Magallanez said.
Steele said a lot of student groups ask for advertising funding.
"That's generally the first thing to be cut because it's so much money," he said.
Kevin Stevenson, ASUNM president, said the finance committee's job is to distribute a percentage of student fees to student groups, providing them with basic expenses for the next fiscal year.
"The finance committee's job is to decide where the money should go," he said.
He said ASUNM can't provide a lot of money for newspaper advertising, because the Daily Lobo already gets money from student fees.
Jim Fisher, business manager for student publications, said no student fees go to the advertising department - they go to publications.
"Publications and advertising are two different businesses," he said.
Each full-time UNM undergraduate student pays ASUNM a $20 fee every semester. ASUNM allocates 8.5 percent of its budget to the Student Publications Board.
The publications include Best Student Essays, Conceptions Southwest and the Daily Lobo.
Fisher said the student publications receive about $48,000, which pays for distribution and printing.
He said after the magazines get their funding, the Daily Lobo receives about $36,000 a year.
Printing costs for the Lobo will run $172,000 for the 2004 fall and 2005 spring semesters.
Fisher said the money the Lobo receives from ASUNM makes up 5 percent of the Lobo's budget.
