The Future
Council members say they have even more reforms in store, but point to the rapid progress the committee has made in the last few years.
Two years ago, the council only allocated $25,000 in grants, far below the $36,000 they had available. Today, the committee gives out their entire allotment and members say they could use a lot more.
"[Underfunding] frankly disgusts me. I can see so many ways that I could give out twice as much money," Weinberg says.
Weinberg says the change accompanied the creation of the Progressive Undergraduate Council Coalition (PUCC), a now-defunct council reform party.
Council members are confident that the change this year will continue with the leaders of the council.
Hyman and Vice President Lamelle D. Rawlins '99 say they advocate greater allocations to be given out in grants, a stance that was part of their campaign platform in the campus-wide elections last spring.
But the new funds for grants would have to come from the council's committee fund, which bankrolls the events of the Student Affairs and Campus Life Committees.
Some say that further increases would hurt the council's events more than they would help student groups.
"The wrangling over the extra 1.5 percent is really trivial," says council Treasurer John J. Appelbaum '97. "The money is not going to significantly impact student groups, but it could be used to fund U.C. shuttle buses."
Some council members argue that expansion of the grants budget is necessary to keep up with ever-growing demand.
"The number of student groups has grown tremendously in the last few years, while U.C. funding has not," says Michael A. O'Mary '99, the council's newly-created director of student groups.
However, others say that the Finance Committee can help student groups in alternative ways.
"I don't think throwing the whole of the U.C. budget into the grants fund is the solution," West says. "There are a lot of other roles [the council] can play."
West suggests that the council be a "central financial clearinghouse" for student groups, helping them organize their finances and serving as a resource for information on sources of funding.
Many students agree that finding funding is a complex and frustrating process.
And with limited funding and inconsistent criteria, grants decisions can be random.
"The process is similar to the admissions process," Chan says. "It's not an exact science; otherwise, there'd be no debate whatsoever. We'd just punch the numbers in."