The University Activities Board lost more than $100,000 of its annual budget because of recent statewide budget cuts. The group has had to cut activities and eliminate staff positions to deal with budget problems.

The University Activities Board budget would have been about $750,000 before cuts.

University Activities Board Manager Tami Kuhn said the large cuts were a surprise, since the organization had expected to lose only $25,000 this year.

Janelle Jacobs, University Activities Board assistant manager, said the organization receives half of its general funding from the university and it also lost an additional $50,000 in funding that would have been distributed in the next three years.

The University Activities Board raises the rest of its budget from fund-raising efforts throughout the year.

The board combined committees to help with the cutbacks, and Jacobs said the cuts have affected every aspect of the University Activities Board infrastructure.

"We have had to eliminate one of our graduate assistants," Jacobs said. "There was a lot more work to go around, with one less person."

The University Activities Board also had to cut four of its late-night programs, each of which cost an average of $3,000.

The free weekend films provided by the board's partnership with the Residence Halls Association also has lost funding and could be affected by funding cuts.

"Something that has been on the table between RHA and UAB is the possibility of only showing three films on the weekends, instead of the four films we show," Jacobs said.

And some students say they won't even notice the decrease.

"I don't think fewer movies would make a difference, only if the movies were less interesting or a lesser quality," telecommunication, information studies and media senior Laura Portwood-Stacer said.

University Activities Board Arts and Crafts committee member Sara Cox said the budget for her committee was cut from $250 per craft night to $150.

Because of budget cuts, each student who wants to participate in the biweekly craft nights have to pay one dollar for the events that were free last year.

The admission fee has affected craft night attendance, Cox said. The activities that were free for students, she said, saw three times more people than the regular turnout.

Cox said the dollar fee was only proposed for the year and might not be a permanent fee and she would prefer to get rid of the dollar fee by only guaranteeing art supplies for the first 100 participants.

Jacobs said she noticed it, too.

"We used to have a line forming outside of the craft tables before craft night would even start," Jacobs said. "I have always been happy that UAB was able to provide free programs all the time because I know students don't have a lot of money."

English freshman Lisa Shaw said she did not think charging a dollar - something she could find on the floor in her room - was unreasonable.

"They've charged every time I have gone, and I don't think it is too much," Shaw said. "You get unlimited supplies and can make whatever you want, I think it is a good deal. I go all the time."

Staff writer Shannon Houghton contributed to this report.