Changes to the Student Organization Finance Committee's 2006-2007 budget will force several on-campus groups to seek funding from an alternate source.
SOFC Chair Jeff Federspiel, a junior, said the organization was reluctant to finance speakers before they have committed to coming to the University. As a result, campus organizations will be looking to Duke Student Government's programming fund to bring in future speakers.
Federspiel added that increases to DSG's programming fund will offset any budget cuts. Groups can request money from the fund through a year-long rolling application process.
DSG recently passed a resolution that will direct an extra $20,000 to the programming fund, bringing the 2006-2007 total to $112,175.04. The extra funding was amassed over the past several years after money budgeted to student groups was not appropriately rolled over from year to year.
Federspiel said the American Civil Liberties Union at Duke and the Duke Conservative Union will be impacted by the changes.
ACLU President Daniel Bowes, a junior and a DSG senator, said providing public speakers is one of ACLU's primary roles. He added that members of SOFC encouraged him that the ACLU is likely to receive programming funds during the upcoming year because it is an active group on campus. Without SOFC allocations, however, it will be difficult for the group to schedule speakers early in the semester, said Bowes, a former Chronicle columnist.
"We've shown our commitment to providing quality programs to Duke students, and we've shown that we've been responsible with money," Bowes said. "I don't have any doubt that we'll get programming money for that, but that makes it tough."
Other student leaders said they do not look favorably upon the budget.
DCU President John Korman, a senior, said he was confused by SOFC's allocation to the organization. He noted that DCU received no money for its website, which Korman described as its biggest publicity tool. And despite SOFC's new policy of financing fewer speakers through the programming fund, DCU still received $750 for guest speaker Reginald Jones.
"They didn't fund our website, and that has nothing to do with programming," Korman said. "Calculating funding for the year is not rocket science. SOFC seems to do a good job at making things more complicated than they are."
Federspiel said funding for public speakers from the general budget will not be curtailed immediately.
"We're trying to gradually change the allocation, so they aren't thrown into ice water," he said.
Korman also drew attention to a second major change in this year's budget-an increase in funds to traveling academic groups.
"DCU has a budget that's about half as much as the chess club," he said.
Junior Matthew Hoekstra, a member of the chess club and a DSG senator, said he was glad that academic groups were receiving attention for their accomplishments.
He said the chess club finished among the top teams for national collegiate chess clubs this year.
Federspiel cited Duke Model United Nations and Duke Moot Court as other traveling academic groups that will receive more money in the upcoming year.
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