Members of the University Board and the student government met last week to discuss and modify their budgets on April 7 before the Apportionment Board’s last meeting of the semester.

Ashley Hoogstraten, the chairwoman of the AB, said she was glad the two fee-funded boards could come together in a mutually beneficial way.

“I didn’t know that (the student) government and (the) UB had worked together until 6:30 (p.m.) on Thursday and the AB meets at 7 (p.m.),” Hoogstraten said.

The meeting came after the student government and the UB both made numerous complaints about the combined 24 percent budget cuts.

“I think it cut the tension a lot- everyone seems to be back to their normal self,” Hoogstraten said.

The student government decided to give the UB $1,600 to put back into its overall budget.

Hoogstraten said the AB still has about $17,367.74 left in the AB’s reserve account that will rollover for next year’s AB.

“It’s kind of like a reward for being responsible with your money,” Hoogstraten said. “Every year we budget out to spend it all.”

Both organizations credit Christy Anderson, the student executive vice president, as the person who initiated the meeting.

Alyssa Anderson, the vice chairwoman of the UB, was one of the people present at the meeting and said she was glad the discussion finally happened.

“(Anderson) approached Krystina (LaMorte, the chairwoman of the UB,) and I to talk about a collaborative meeting where we could go through our budgets together,” said Alyssa Anderson, a senior psychology major.

Anderson, a senior communication sciences and disorders major, said the meeting seemed logical to her.

“We both serve the students and we work in the same office,” Anderson said. “We could make a lot better programs if we just worked together.”

Ceci Brinker, the adviser for the UB and the student government, said she thinks the two boards should have been meeting long before this.

“You have to find how to do more with less-especially when it comes to money,” Brinker said. “It was a win-win.”

Because Hoogstraten will be graduating this year, she had some advice for the next senate member who will be taking her position.

“Make sure everyone is appointed- even if you can get people at the end of this year willing to do AB,” she said.

The AB should try to have an orientation and official meeting before October, Hoogstraten said.

The student vice president for business affairs for next year should start looking for people to appoint as soon as they are elected, Hoogstraten said.

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-2812 or ovogunbodede@eiu.edu.