Between $1.7 billion, $30 million and $35 in budget cuts, ASMSU chose the last option.
MSU's undergraduate student government couldn't escape having to crunch budget numbers along with the MSU and state of Michigan this spring.
On Feb. 27, Student Assembly approved the organization's 2003-2004 budget, which allocates about $776,000 in student tax dollars to various programs within ASMSU.
ASMSU's budget is based on projected enrollment for the upcoming academic year. All student tax dollars are refundable.
"There's a lot of places the money has to go," Student Assembly Chairman Matt Weingarden said. "We need to promote efficiency."
The organization is constitutionally bound to give a certain percentage of its funding to Academic Assembly, Programming Board and Funding Board. Other programs such as Legal Services and the Business Office have a labor contract with the organization.
Legal services will receive an extra $8,000 next year because those services are continually utilized, Weingarden said. Items for the program, such as updated law books, are needed because students request those services, he said.
"Laws dealing with minor in possession change more than we think," he said. "We want to keep up with that."
But it was other programs, such as the Red Cedar Log, which found themselves on the chopping board.
The Red Cedar Log receives $26,000 to pay for labor on the yearbook.
This is in addition to the $3 student tax the group receives each semester.
The $5,400 cut to the yearbook means the salary for copy editors will not be covered by ASMSU, and the Red Cedar Log will have to take over the payroll under its student tax dollar budget.
"That's going to put a really big strain on our budget," said Cole Young, business manager for the Red Cedar Log. "We're not getting rid of them because we need them."
The group will have to evaluate how this cut will affect next year's budget before it makes any changes.
Possible changes could be cutting back the amount of books produced or the quality of the yearbook.
"I always made the impression that (labor) would be the last to cut," Young said.
But Weingarden said many cuts came from operational costs, such as reminder cards for the loan program, which are now e-mailed to students. Before, ASMSU had to pay for printing and postage.
Other groups, such as the Freshman Class Council, asked for a reduction in their funding because they weren't as active, said Glenn Sterner, Student Assembly representative for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
"They used a lot less money than expected," he said.
But ASMSU is requesting an added 75 cents from students to put back some money into programs that could be cut later on down the line, said Andrew Schepers, Student Assembly representative for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Students will vote on the tax proposal on March 19.
