The Government of the Student Body is taking precautionary measures while budgeting, even though the university-wide cuts will not likely affect them directly.

GSB’s operating budget comes from student fee money that is put right into the GSB accounts, said Jon Turk, GSB president and senior in political science.

The allocations process should still be the same so students shouldn’t see a drastic change, Turk said.

GSB has already taken measures to be fiscally responsible. With the economy the way it is, GSB is trying to be more cautious than usual, said Chandra Peterson, GSB vice president and junior in political science.

One change GSB has experienced is the number of clubs that are turning to GSB for funding, Peterson said.

GSB is discussing the possibility of funding the pre-professional and academic groups on campus, which will be one aspect of allocations that may change in the future.

If GSB decides to fund pre-professional and academic groups, hundreds of groups could apply to receive funds, said Tom Danielson, GSB financial director and senior in civil engineering.

“I would say if we started to fund these groups it would stretch our budget into something of nonexistence,” Danielson said.

The GSB needs to work to find something that will make each group happy, Peterson said.

“It makes me sad when I hear someone saying that sports groups don’t matter,” Peterson said.

She said she empathizes with academic groups worried about how budget cuts within their colleges will affect their organizations.

Peterson also noted she is worried for groups who rely solely on GSB funds to keep their groups alive, Peterson said.

Danielson said there needs to be some sort of balance between the two groups and the finance committee is hoping to find that during its meeting Monday night.

Turk and Peterson will attend their first budget advisory meeting next Thursday, equipped with ideas as to where the university should make up for some of its financial losses.

Turk reiterated his thoughts on a surcharge .

“Students are already burdened,” Turk said. “When the state is proposing this large of a cut they are showing us that we need to be operating under a smaller budget. This will not be a temporary cut.”

A surcharge would get the university through the rest of the year, but it is just a temporary fix, Turk said.

Peterson agreed and mentioned she was also against a surcharge.

The university is not going to be able to only cut the fluff spending, Peterson noted.

Some of the options that might seem more reasonable are the salary reductions and the early retirement incentives, Turk said.

“Students need to make their voices heard,” Peterson said. “Let President Turk and I, the senators, and the Board of Regents know what you are thinking.”

The university needs to be looking at ways it can lift the burden on the student debt, not make it worse, Turk said.

“The university needs to take a serious look at what Iowa State is about and decide what our key missions are,” Turk said.

Bills under discussion

2009-2-017 requests $1,664.68 for ISU Model United Nations’ travel expenses for upcoming events

2009-2-019 requests $475 to fund CyBuild, which assists Iowans affected by natural disasters

2009-2-020 requests $80 to fund the American Culture Acclimation Society’s event “How do you Measure a Pumpkin’s Circumference? Use Pumpkin Pi!”

2009-2-021 requests $1005 to fund the 2nd Annual Sustainability Symposium