The Daily O’Collegian

Claude Rains Appreciation Society is one of many campus organizations adjusting to SGA financing cutbacks this semester.

CRAS is the official student organization of OSU’s screen studies program, and money is down this year.

“SGA’s budget for CRAS has been cut in half,” said Hugh Manon, a professor of film studies and CRAS faculty adviser.

Trevor Sharon, SGA treasurer and a hotel restaurant administration senior, said the cutbacks are university wide and many student organizations do not have enough money.

Many campus organizations are adjusting to the lack of proper SGA financing. Last semester, CRAS began funding Exciterbulb, the public film series offered by OSU’s English department.

Manon said CRAS will be able to fund only one Exciterbulb screening this semester. The cutbacks affect which films are shown at Exciterbulb because the other four films Exciterbulb screens need to have no public exhibition rights fees.

“Each screening can cost between $300 and $350 just to get the publication rights to the film,” CRAS President Kimberly Tolson, said.

CRAS’ funding dropped from $700 in the 2005-2006 year to a little more than $300 this year. Sharon said he is reformulating the system that allocates SGA’s budget to make it more proportionate, so student organizations will receive the funding they need in the future.

Right now, funding for student organizations is decided by a program called the Activity Fee Allocation Process. AFAP is based on a formula that takes into account the proportion of enrollment and active groups within different schools and colleges to determine where SGA funding should be given.

Sharon said in the past few years the board of regents gave the AFAP program an unused account of “floating money.” The account, which contained about $400,000, has been completely used up leading to a $70,000 drop in funds from last year.

“We’re restructuring AFAP to better serve the students and make it more equal,” Sharon said.

Another less-advertised way to receive money through SGA is a process called co-sponsorship.

Co-sponsorship is a program created to give immediate relief to student organizations lacking sufficient SGA funding through AFAP. Although AFAP funding has decreased, the co-sponsorship program’s funding has increased nearly three fold, and any student organization can apply to receive up to $1,500.

To learn more about AFAP or apply for co-sponsorship visit the SGA office in the basement of the student union. Students interested in attending CRAS can e-mail Kimberly Tolson at kimberly.m.tolson@mail.okstate.edu or Hugh Manon at hugh.manon@okstate.edu and ask to be put on the CRAS e-mail list. The Exciterbulb schedule is also available at http://english.okstate.edu/exciterbulb/index.htm.