Correction: The Russian Club is still in negotiations with t.A.T.u. The date and time of the concert is not yet official. Additionally, the Black Student Union received monies from the Student Outreach Fund and not the general unallocated funds. As such, finance board is left with $37,778.02 in unallocated funds for the quarter and not the $20,150.02 originally reported. The Nexus regrets these errors.
At last night’s Associated Students Finance Board meeting, Russian Club members announced that European pop sensation t.A.T.u. may perform on campus this quarter.
According to Russian Club Treasurer Corinne Seals, the group is in negotiations with t.A.T.u. for a possible UCSB performance on March 6 in the Hub at a reduced rate of $10,000. Admission will be free for students. Additionally, finance board dispensed a total of $75,820 to 22 groups, leaving only $37,778.02 in unallocated funds for Winter Quarter. All 22 groups received the full amounts requested.
The Russian Club received $12,990 for three of its upcoming events, including the t.A.T.u. performance and its Contemporary Russian Cultural Awareness Week. Seals said the group was proud to present the concert.
“We’re really excited to bring t.A.T.u. here because they are such a big name and they would further promote contemporary Russian culture,” Seals said. “Their performance will go along with our clubs overall theme.”
Originally, the Russian Club requested funds from the A.S. Program Board for the concert, but its request was tabled in order to determine the amount that the Finance Board would allocate. The board voted 15 in favor and one member opposing to fully fund any amount that the Program Board would not dispense.
The board also allocated $15,975 to Habitat for Humanity’s spring break trip to Slidell, La., using the group’s one-time exception for transportation funding.
Habitat for Humanity President Maxim Massenkoff said that all 20 available spots on the trip were filled, but later said that the group was still accepting applications. Some members of the board were unwilling to fund the trip at first because they felt that the trip was not openly accessible to the UCSB community.
Board member Paige Blatt said that because of the size of the trip, it would be difficult to accommodate any more participants.
“So few people can go as it is, but these 20 students will still represent UCSB in Louisiana,” Blatt said. “If we’re willing to give $10,000 for t.A.T.u. to perform, then we should give $15,000 to build houses.”
Since the A.S. Legislative Council had dispensed the remaining amount of the Katrina fund last quarter, the board allocated the full amount requested from its unallocated funds.
The board additionally funded sorority Kappa Alpha Theta $2,000 for its annual Court Appointed Special Advocates Kickball Tournament. According to third-year Katie Alvarez, this year’s tournament is open to all UCSB students.
“We’re trying to make it a UCSB community event instead of a greek life event,” Alvarez said. “Not only is it a great way to raise money for a charity, it’s also a way to desegregate the UCSB community and the greek community.”
The board also funded the Black Student Union, Inter-Greek Council and Sex and Relationship Interns for their upcoming events.