At its third meeting of the school year, the Associated Students Finance Board drained the remainder of its account for the quarter in less than two hours, distributing $2,500 to three out of four student groups that requested funds.

The board gave the American Red Cross Club at UCSB $500, the UC Students Vote! campaign $1,200 and the India Association of Santa Barbara $800. None of the groups were fully funded, and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity did not receive funds from the board.

SAE requested $400 to help pay for the fraternity’s “Scare” event, a haunted house for children in Isla Vista. Joel Rodriguez-Flores, A.S. external vice president for local affairs, suggested the board not allocate money for the event because the I.V. Community Relations Committee will most likely fund the group’s request in full.

Later in the meeting, American Red Cross Club President Cameron Malone, a fourth-year microbiology and philosophy major, asked the board for $2,000 dollars to help the group’s Hoops for Heroes fundraiser.

“The event I am asking money for is a basketball tournament fundraiser,” Malone said. “The chapter needs money to fund their services.”

The board voted to give the American Red Cross Club at UCSB $500 to cover the cost of Daily Nexus advertising, with 13 in favor and 2 abstaining.

In addition, the board approved $1,200 for the UC Students Vote! campaign to cover the cost of voter registration guides with 10 in favor, 4 opposing and 1 abstaining.

Finance Board Member John Paul Primeau said exhausting the account in the beginning of the school year shows negligence on the part of the board.

“I think, fiscally, to spend pretty much the whole budget of Finance Board in the second week is irresponsible,” Primeau said.

The board then voted to allocate the remaining $800 to the India Association of Santa Barbara to fund the group’s annual Diwali Festival, with 8 in favor, 3 opposing and 3 abstaining. The group originally requested $1,700.

Rodriguez-Flores argued that distributions should not be determined by the amount of money in the board’s account.

“I just want to say that just because Finance Board doesn’t have that much money, it shouldn’t be a reason to under-fund events,” Rodriguez-Flores said.

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