Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: News

Student Body President Levi Bulgar speaks to the Apportionment Board for a second time about his Campus Safety Week proposal on Thursday night. (Erin Matheny/The Daily Eastern News)

After being tabled last week, the additional allocation for the Campus Safety Week was passed 6-1-0 at Thursday's Apportionment Board meeting.

Student Body President Levi Bulgar was the presenter and advocate for Campus Safety Week, which will be held April 6 to 10. The event will cost $900.

The AB wanted Bulgar last week to look into more sponsorship to limit the amount of the allocation. Bulgar said he talked to Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council and Black Student Union to get sponsorship.

BSU is interested in donating some money and or manpower, Bulgar told the board. He also said he will talk to the Health Education Resource Center and Gray Reed from Facilities Planning and Management to expand sponsorship.

"My goal is to get this thing completely funded outside Student Government," Bulgar said.

A presentation for Campus Safety Week that Bulgar got support for was Life Line, which concerns electrical safety. Through co-sponsorship with Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative, Bulgar got $500 - half of the $1,000 required.

"A lot of times we don't think of it," Bulgar said. "Last December, three students died going from school to home when they caromed off the road, hit a pole and weren't sure what to do."

Student Senate Speaker Drew Griffin presented next year's Student Government budget with Bulgar. They both proposed an allocation of $50,374 - more than $5,000 from last year. Bulgar and Griffin cut $2,900 initially from the budget.

Increases come from an additional $2,000 for executive tuition waivers, $945 for traveling to Conference on Student Government Associations and $300 for advertising.

"Traveling to the Student Government conference has been out of our budget for too long, and I think it is something that has to be there regardless," Bulgar said. "(Also) every year with the events and programs that we put together, especially this year in the increase of forums, we needed more advertisement."

Athletic Director Barbara Burke committed $2,500 for First Night, Bulgar said. Last August, only $2,400 for the event was donated. Bulgar hopes First Night, which started in 2005, will become a self-sustaining event in the near future.

Campus Recreation also presented next year's budget. Ken Baker, director of campus recreation, asked for $226,190 - $1,510 less than this year's. Baker asked AB to consider allocating $16,190 for new equipment. Most of it goes to new benches in the weight room.

"Those benches have been here since before I got here," Baker said. "So I signed for a little facelift there. We have turned over all the cardio equipment in the last three years. "

The $145,000 allocated for student workers remains the same, Baker said. However, minimum wage increased from $8 to $8.25 per hour.

To combat this, Sarah Daugherty, program director for the Student Recreation Center, said hours will be watched.


Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7942 or at rtbajek@eiu.edu.

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