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The Michigan Daily - Monday. June 16. 2003 - 3
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SWOODSHOP
Continued from Page 1
pay, said he understood the decision to close the woodshop. He
added that he had not been surprised by the announcement, since
talk of closing the woodshop has been circulating "for years."
"The closing of the woodshop is something that has been
talked about for years and years and years. When funds have
been plentiful, it's easy to fund the woodshop," Vosburgh
said. "A lot of the excitement around this is connected with
the sudden dissemination of the news. On Wednesday, the
only news that I had was that we were closed."
Vosburgh said the University ends up paying more than
$50,000 each year in operating costs - which do not
include heat, electricity, salaries, insurance and other
costs. And he added that financially, the woodshop could
be considered a poor use of on-campus real estate.
Standing alone in the closed shop - which users said
normally sees anywhere from five to 30 people at a time
- Dinehart, who has worked at the woodshop for 16
years, said he wasn't ready to leave.
"No one was here for the money. We were here for the enjoy-
ment," Dinehart said, adding he did not know of a nearby alterna-
tive to the woodshop. "I haven't been able to think of anything."
But Dinehart was not the only person not willing to let
the woodshop go. By 5 p.m. Friday, a group of 25 employ-
ees and users, many of whom are graduate students at the
monetary funding
activi- tion process was pretty simple. The «
forms are easy to fill out," she said. " eIy stU
deter- Baeck said she was very pleased support M
uld be with changes made in the applica- ot
aid the tion process. they don't
possi- "Before, when organizations were
ctively asked to forecast funding needs for an
senting entire semester, it was difficult to
ble. make the requests specific enough MSA is less lik
presi- because we couldn't project our activi- about our applica
aid she ties or needs through the entire semes- She added that
allocat- ter," she said. "Now that the process is discriminated ag:
I think broken down into three cycles, we can because of its relit
pplica- be more accurate in our requests, and "As long as we
University, had assembled to discuss what could be done to
keep the woodshop going.
It was then that many of the users learned that the closing was
not as immediate as they had once believed. Vosburgh said Friday
that he intends to keep the woodshop open to users during its nor-
mal hours, Thursdays through Sundays. It is now expected to be
closed Mondays through Wednesdays.
"It is not definite now as to when we are going to have
to close our doors for good," Dinehart said, adding the
group was still focused on finding ways to keep the wood-
shop in operation.
The group discussed everything from funderaising and
increasing fees to lobbying the administration and raising
awareness about the woodshop's existence. "It's too bad to
see a place like this whittle away. It's been a great place to
end the day," said University alum Ethan Orley, who had
been using the shop since January.
Orley added that he believes one of the reasons more
students do not use the woodshop is simply because they
don't know about it. "It's unfortunate that I've only found
out about this place now," he said. "I'm upset that there
hasn't been enough advertising for this place."
By the end of the meeting, the scene in the woodshop returned
to normal - sort of. While some members of the group slowly
gathered wood, projects, and supplies to carry to their cars, others
prepared to get dusty and set up shop at one of the workstations.
- Daily News Editor Soojung Chang contributed to this report.
invokes criticism
dents at this University pays fees to
ISA. They have plenty of money, but
spend it wisely."
- Amy Keller
President, Residence Halls Association
ely to raise questions who don't share our views, they are
tions." okay," she said. "This is fine with us
she felt MSA had not because we can do community service
ainst her organization events such as promoting vegetarian
gious orientation. diets that can benefiteverybody while
don't exclude students we adhere to our faith."
Gavin Hayes of Dredg sings duing the bands headlining show last Monday, at The
Shelte In DetrolL Vewmore photos Ithe photo galleryeat wwwn fh gar7:o.
MSA procedure for
By ChrisAmos
For the Daily
LSA junior Amy Keller, president
of the Residence Halls Association
said that the Michigan Student
Assembly fails to adequately fund
student organizations because of
their misplaced priorities.
"Every student at this University pays
fees to support MSA. They have plenty
of money, but they don't spend it wise-
ly," she said.
Longtime MSA staff member Bisera
Vlahovijak said she wasn't surprised by
student complaints. "Student organiza-
tions tend to be satisfied with fund allo-
cations, hut there will always be those
that complain' she said.
Vlahovijak said that while MSA
awards might seem small at first
glance, many smaller organizations
often request comparatively small
amounts of funding to begin with. She
said this is particularly true during the
spring and summer terms, when most
organizations are less active and there-
fore require less funding._
"Student organizations cannot use
MSA funding to buy capital goods, food
and beverages or to pay for student
lodging and travel,"she said.
While she declined to divulge the
names of specific student groups, Vla-
hovijak said very few applications are
denied outright.
"Even when student groups applica-
tions are not completed properly, those
organizations are given an opportunity
to correct them and then have them
reconsidered by the board," she said.
"And each organization is entitled
to have its application read twice
and to appear hefore thedeciding
committee in person when their ini-
tial application is denied."
Vlahovijak said two committees,
budget priorities and community serv-
ice, determine MSA funding decisions.
Each is comprised of elected MSA rep-
resentatives and students-at-large.
The funding criteria considered hy
both committees include the organi-
zations' financial need, their ability
to access alternative sources of
financial assistance, and the poten-
tial impact that organization<
ties will have on campus life.
While she acknowledged that
mining impact on campus life co
highly subjective, Vlahovijak sa
committees try to be as neutral as
ble in their deliberations and a
seek to fund organizations repres
diverse viewpoints wherever possi
LSA sophomore Sandra Baek,
dent of the Adventist Students st
was satisfied with the way MSA a
ed funds to her student group."
that we were treated fairly. The a
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