Some student senators concerned with possible cuts to UF's multicultural and volunteering programs are hoping students will agree to pay higher tuition fees to save the programs.
Sen. Naadira Renfroe said students may have a chance to vote on a referendum next fall asking if they want to increase the Activity and Service Fee, applied to tuition, in order to pick up the $508,000 tab for the programs.
The programs in question are the Multicultural and Diversity Affairs program, which includes the Institute of Black Culture and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Affairs, and the Center for Leadership and Service, which organizes volunteering and leadership events.
They would be cut from the Student Affairs budget if it sustained a possible 10 percent cut in state funding next year, resulting in nine staff and four graduate assistants losing their jobs.
The change in the A & S Fee would have to be approved by the Board of Trustees, UF's highest governing body. In the meantime, Renfroe said she would like to see Student Government use its reserves to fund the programs for about a year.
Stan Beckerdite, business manager in the SG Finance office, said while it might be possible to use SG's operational reserves to preserve the programs, it would be unorthodox because the funds are designated for one-time emergencies, not for sustaining a program over the course of a year.
He said there is about $880,000 in operational reserves, but that there's no guarantee there will be money in the fund at the end of the fiscal year.
Patricia Telles-Irvin, UF's vice president of Student Affairs, wrote in an e-mail that she is grateful such a proactive approach is being considered to save the programs.
She said in a phone interview she is also looking for alternative sources of funding for the programs.
The two programs are on the chopping block because they are the only programs left in Student Affairs that aren't mandated by state law, she said.
"The last two years we've been given cuts, and they've taken it all," she said.
The other cost-saving measure being considered by Student Affairs is a merger of Student Mental Health Services with UF's Counseling Center, which would save about $350,000 while laying no one off.
"I think it would make the services even more effective and more efficient," Telles-Irvin said of the possible merger.
