The Student Government Association’s new fall budget, which passed Tuesday, included $40,000 more than last year’s Spring I semester.

Last year, the total SGA budget came to roughly $190,000. This fall the budget was $232,965. The SGA budget is allocated to fund campus programs, events and student groups.

Consisting primarily of donations from other universities, unused student funds from the Spring II semester and higher than expected enrollment rates, this boost in funds has afforded SGA an opportunity to develop new campus initiatives and improve existing programs, said SGA Vice President Bob Payne, English literature junior.

“The budget’s just bigger this year,” Payne said. “We didn’t have to cut anything, and we passed that money onto the stuff that we thought would help the students most.”

One major investment in the new budget will go towards general campus improvements, said Payne. Roughly $25,000 has been allocated for various projects, such as possibly refurbishing the Wolf Den and potentially putting a coffee shop in the first floor of Carrollton Hall.

“We’re going to improve life on campus by actually improving the buildings and improving the facilities,” Payne said.

The current proposals are tentative, according to Payne, but decisions will be made by the end of the semester. SGA is working with Director of Student Affairs Chris Cameron and Vice President for Student Affairs Marcia Petty, Ph.D., to determine what students would like those spaces used for and what is feasible, said Payne.

Another relatively new program is the Community Development Fund, which was created during the Spring I semester for community service projects. This was originally planned to last only for that semester, but the university has chosen to continue the fund. SGA received a $2,241 donation from Michigan State University that will go towards supporting this fund.

The Richard Frank Grant and Collegiate Readership Program are also seeing an increase in their funding, while traditional SGA sponsored events such as Swamp Stomp – during Catch the Action at the start of every year – and the Wolves on the Prowl service day will receive roughly the same funding as they have in the past. This semester, more money – $80,000 from last year’s $70,500 – has been set aside for campus groups and organizations , said Payne.

The budget vote went fairly smoothly, said President of the College of Social Sciences Adam Kohler, political science junior. The budget, written by SGA President Daniel Green, political science senior, was given to members of SGA a few weeks before the vote for review and was passed without any major disagreements.

The allocation of funds to specific student groups and organizations is scheduled for this weekend, beginning at 5 p.m. today and continuing Saturday at 9 a.m.

All students are welcome to come and observe the process. The results of these meetings will be posted Monday by 9 a.m.

Kevin Corcoran can be reached at [email protected].