The A.S. Council passed next year’s executive budget in record time Wednesday. A.S. President Jeff Dodge’s proposal presented several spending changes that he felt will benefit student life.

“”I feel like I’m really making a positive difference in campus life,”” Dodge said about the $1,133,400 budget.

The main distinction in the new budget is the Campus Activity Fees Allocations. According to Dodge, funding some programs with different A.S. funds, such as revenues from A.S. Lecture Notes and the Grove Caffe, Dodge’s budget may free up more money for student organizations and activities.

Most controversial is the absence of the Committee for World Democracy from the list of A.S.-funded student organizations.

Previously categorized under the Cultural Awareness Program, CWD has traditionally been funded directly through the A.S. budget, instead of applying for funds through the Student Organization Funding Allocation Board as other student organizations do.

“”It wasn’t a fair situation,”” Dodge said on his decision to drop the CWD as a line-item allocation. “”There are over 300 student organizations on campus and CWD was getting a line item. This is no reflection on the quality of their work; it’s a matter of fairness and equality. We cannot fund one organization over others.””

Also of interest to students is an allocation within the area of Campus Activity Fees Allocations for Athletic Relations. This is the first time athletics have been funded by the A.S. Council, and the intention is to allow athletics to generate more student support and attract people to sports competitions.

The $1,600 allocation will possibly gain a larger budget in the future depending on the success of this allocation next year.

“”The difference it could possibly make [will be seen] during fall quarter,”” Dodge said. “”It’s a trial-and-error situation.””

Also under the umbrella of Campus Activity Fees Appropriations, the new budget doubles the funds spent on FallFest from $35,000 to $70,000, which Dodge hopes will invigorate student life at the beginning of the year much like Sun God does in spring.

The allocation for FallFest is now only $5,000 less than that of Sun God, meaning that, as Dodge put it, “”FallFest is going to be big next year.””

Under the programming line-item, an increase in spending on “”Nooners”” — up to $20,000 from last year’s $8,000 — is meant to improve the student experience at UCSD.

“”We would like to see more [nooners] so that students are engaging themselves during the day,”” Dodge said. “”These are all positive steps toward improving quality of life at UCSD.””

The A.S. Council will also be funding many student services through the revenues of A.S. Lecture Notes.

Most noticeable are the additions of funding for the A.S. Outreach Program, the Excel Leadership Conference and the A.S. Women’s Commission.

The A.S. Outreach Program will receive a $5,000 allocation and is considered by the A.S. Council to be a very important program for the future of UCSD.

The program runs an Outreach Day every quarter when junior high and high school students tour the campus, see a lecture, and get a basic feel for what life at UCSD is like.

ASOP also gives away two $500 scholarships every year for undergraduates who work to significantly improve outreach at UCSD.

The A.S. Women’s Commission’s $3,500 allocation ensures the contiuance of events like Take Back the Night and gives the Women’s Center its operating costs so it can function without having to constantly reapply for funds.

The Excel Leadership Conference has not been included in the A.S. budget in the past two years, but is now reappearing as one of the programs funded by A.S. Lecture Notes revenues.

Dodge said this $5,000 allocation “”is a step towards making that conference really important on campus.””

The KSDT-SRTV split also had an impact on next year’s A.S. budget, with funds for each being allocated separately rather than together under Student Cable Works.

KSDT will no longer be broadcasting through cable radio or through its low-power AM receptors. Instead, the radio station will broadcast entirely over the Internet, saving the A.S. Council $300 per month that has usually been used for station upkeep.

As a result of the split, SRTV will now be individually funded by an allocation of $5,098.

Triton Taxi will now be funded by A.S. Lecture Notes income as well, freeing up $11,000 for campus activities.

Other changes include the allocations for University of California Student Association membership and United States Student Association membership. These actions were passed in the A.S. elections held in April and will cost a total of $0.50 per student per quarter, with $0.45 going toward UCSA membership and $0.05 going toward USSA membership.

“”[Membership in the USSA] gives the university and ASUCSD a connection to movements going on outside of the campus and allows for all schools to be a part of a unified voice on [Capitol] hill,”” Dodge said.

After the budget was approved, A.S. Vice President Internal Jennifer Brown commented on how quickly the budget was approved.

“”I would just like to say that we just passed the A.S. executive budget in 11 minutes,”” she said.

A.S. President Jeff Dodge added, “”That’s the fastest it’s been in four years.””