Maybe some college students don't understand all the particulars of balancing a checkbook or keeping track of money.

But you'd think that members of ASMSU — with a budget of about $850,000 — would be a little more knowledgeable when it comes to financial matters.

Unfortunately, however, ASMSU's Academic Assembly found errors before the undergraduate student government's budget was proposed at its meeting Tuesday.

The "typo" was an addition error that failed to account for $5,000 on promotional spending and changed the total amount presented on the budget.

That's quite a typo.

Sure, everyone makes mistakes. It's especially easy to make mistakes with money.

But when so much money is at stake, any error could be a big deal.

These errors in particular could make people question additional financial support for ASMSU. You don't make mistakes, blame them on computer glitches and then ask for more money.

The budget was, hopefully, reviewed by many people, approved by a finance committee and then sent to Academic Assembly. How did the errors make it all the way to the meeting without being discovered?

ASMSU should prove that it's worthy of handling a large amount of money responsibly. This includes not just responsible spending, but maintaining the budget as well.

Dwelling on these mistakes in the budget isn't necessary. But before ASMSU gets any more money, the group needs to show it can keep track of what it already has.

First off, budget calculations should be checked a number of times. A great deal of money could get misplaced if one decimal point is incorrect.

The budget should spell out exactly where every penny is going.

Tell the students why ASMSU needs more money, specifically what services will benefit and why they need funding. Take steps to demonstrate why ASMSU can be trusted with money. Saying that services will be improved with funds is an empty statement.

ASMSU needs to take care to keep close tabs on its finances before students decide whether or not to give it more money.