Two years after uncovering the fact that campus organizations had been deprived of misplaced Duke Student Government funds, representatives discussed a better way to allocate DSG money at a general body meeting Wednesday night.
During the meeting, the Senate passed two surplus statutes that would direct a portion of the $120,000 "surplus" that DSG officials discovered in March 2004 to smaller on-campus groups.
"The question of what is a surplus account is truly sketchy," said junior Jeff Federspiel, chair of the Student Organization Finance Committee. "People call it a 'surplus,' but it's not a surplus. The most accurate term for it is probably a 'fiscal disaster.'"
The first statute called for allotting $5,000 to DSG's Programming Fund for the current academic year. Every year, money from the Programming Fund is used to support events planned by a number of on-campus organizations.
The $90,000 allocated to this year's Programming Fund has already been exhausted, Federspiel said at the meeting. He added that several on-campus groups have requested additional funds for the remainder of the year.
The second statute was discussed in more depth by members of the legislative body. The statute will direct $20,000 to DSG's annual budget for the 2006-2007 academic year.
Describing the idea as an issue of "moral clarity," Federspiel said the purpose of both statutes was to return funds to their intended locations-student organizations.
"It's just money that's been misplaced," Federspiel said. "It was money that was supposed to go to student groups. It never did."
Each year, DSG allocates funds to student groups on campus. Every group must return any unspent money to DSG. The money is then to be redistributed among the organizations in the next year.
Although groups have returned the money in past years, the funds have not been appropriately transferred over, said Treasurer Nisha Choksi, a junior.
Referencing the amassed $120,000 through phrases like "pot of gold," Federspiel said the so-called "surplus" was an inaccurate description since the funds rightfully belonged to on-campus organizations, not to the general body of DSG.
President Pro Tempore George Fleming, a junior, was the only member to object to the resolution that will transfer $20,000 to next year's budget.
Fleming said by dividing the large sum of money among many groups, DSG would no longer have a large pool of funds to finance major endeavors.
He also noted funding kegs on the quad, installing plasma screen televisions in Wilson Gymnasium, placing computers in the Bryan Center and providing for DVDs in Lilly Library as recent accomplishments to which DSG has contributed.
"DSG can do lots of other great things," Fleming said. "That will never happen again if we do this."
Junior Joe Fore, vice president of academic affairs, said it would be unfair to use the funds for similar projects since the source of the balance forward was money originally intended for the use of smaller organizations.
"I don't feel comfortable spending money that's not ours," he said.
Senior Paige Sparkman, vice president of student affairs, added that the balance forward did not constitute the only monetary source for such endeavors.
"We might be able to find other avenues to do these things," she said.
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