By Signe K. Skinion

An Undergraduate Student Government bill restricting the amount of general funding for Registered Student Organizations who do not turn in fee allocation forms prior to a fiscal year is causing concern in groups across campus, some RSO leaders say.

Ileanna Dominquez-Urban, advisor to Hispanic Student Council, said the bill can cause problems for her group because the council has 400 to 500 people to think about.

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With such a big group, it is hard to project how much money they will need for the next year, Dominquez-Urban said. Most of what we do is standard, but we do a lot of things that we didn’t know about the previous year.

Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Friends President Erika Kohoutek said she is undecided on the new bill because she can see good and bad points to it.

I think there are pros and cons to it (the bill), Kohoutek said. Sometimes the groups run into something that was not planned under the year’s budget, or there is a sudden spark of motivation to do something new. At the same time, the bill calls for RSO’s to be more responsible for their funding, which is really important and needs to be done.

Darrell Collard, advisor for Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, said the only thing his group needs to know is when the allocation time is.

We have always filled out the forms on time, and I feel fortunate on the funding we have gotten, Collard said. As long as we’re informed we can go along with it. We appreciate that the funding is there, so we can go on trips and use the money for educational purposes.

Tedi Thomas, faculty advisor for Middle Eastern Dance Enthusiasts, said her RSO does the allocation forms at the proper time, but can see problems arising with organizations new to campus or new to the paperwork.

I don’t think it’s (the bill) going to affect our group at all, Thomas said. However, funding has to be done through bureaucratic means. This can cause problems for people who have not done this before, whether being new to campus or having to fill out these forms for the first time.

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The 15-member dance club goes to various conventions throughout the year and learns the fine points of Dance Orientale (belly dancing), Thomas said. She said USG has never disappointed her with funding but can see how bigger RSO’s can have problems getting their future funding ready in the spring.

If you have been operating an RSO for any amount of time, you know pretty much what will be going on the next year, Thomas said. Some of the bigger organizations might have problems with this because their schedule changes a lot more than a small one like mine. Allocation is simply stating what all you plan on doing and how much it will cost.

Ron Mausarz, advisor for Ananda Marga Yoga Society, said the allocation forms are like income taxes.

I don’t see a problem with filling out the allocation forms, Mausarz said. It’s just like income taxes. Once you’ve done it a couple of times, it’s not as difficult..

The yoga society holds free meditation and yoga sessions for students, and has weekly group meditations. Mausarz said a bigger organization might have problems with the new bill because of having more things to do throughout the year.

I can see this causing problems for bigger groups that need a lot of money for operation, Mausarz said. We pretty much know what will be happening next year, so it’s not that bad for us.

The bill goes into effect July 1, 1996 at the beginning of fiscal year 1997.