I 1I7C The Michigan Daily - Monday. June 16. 2003 - 3 N L vvco -.j-,-- I 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 Please call t Metro Connection Airport Service for UofM students, Ann Arbor Residents and Corporate Accounts We provide luxury Lincoln Town Cars at taxi prices. The same rate applies for one to four people and we do not charge a waiting fee at the airport. We welcome all accounts. Please call for reservations. 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