ASDC is the Associate Student Delta College Government Organization.
According to Director of Student Activities Aja Butler, the purpose of the organization is to serve as the voice of Delta College Students.
“[We] organize student life events that represent the diversity of the college,” said Butler.
This spring semester, ASDC’s budget is more than $75 thousand but how is the money spent?
Henderson: What is the operating budget and how does it come about? If we take a look at expenses, ASDC spent $11,895 on supplies and $17,544 on ASDC student field trips. Can you go into detail on the operating budget?
Butler: “Mid-May [to] early June, students start working on their budget for the next fiscal year. Our fiscal year runs from June 1 to June 30th. We sit down and think about all the activities we want to do and we generate a budget. Things like supplies, foods [and] contracts, a lot of that has to do with different events and activities students are going to be doing. They produce the ID cards. We put a lot of money into that because there was going to be an increase in students getting ID cards. With student field trips—that includes the ASDC retreats—we do a summer leadership retreat where we focus on helping students develop leadership skills, learning more about themselves and how they interacted around other people. We do a lot of team building but we also do a lot of planning for the year. They plan out their entire year during the summertime. During the wintertime, we do another retreat. [It’s] kind of like a refresher because if we have new students come in, it’s a way for them to connect and bond with their peers. We do a semester review and look at what things work well in the fall semester, what things need to improve and then we look at some of the events we have coming up that we need to prepare for. The field trips are included in conference travel [expenses]. The field trips are included in conference travel [expenses]. This past year, students went to Marquette University for concert management because we wanted to learn how to put on large-scale concerts. In the fall [they went] to Portland for the NACA West Regional Conference. NACA is [the] National Association Campus Activities. They get a lot of training in skill development [and] event planning because that’s really essential to what they do.”
Regarding money spent on ASDC field trips, why was the bus for the “March to March” voted down?
Henderson: Regarding money spend on ASDC field trips, why was the bus for the “March to March” voted down?
Butler: “It wasn’t voted down, it was more of a time issue because we have to put in a travel request at least 10 days in advance. I believe it was Jeremiah Stanley and Shawn Riley that came to the ASDC meeting. I want to say was the third Monday in February they asked about it. They talked about it during public comments so it wasn’t on the agenda. ASDC is governed by the Brown Act. Anything that’s not on the agenda can’t be talked about. Our agendas are done 72 hours in advance. I went on vacation and [the students] were supposed to have a meeting that Monday. They did have a meeting but I don’t think they talked about it. When I came back from my vacation, it was the Monday for “March to March”. But they just didn’t get the paperwork in on time. The money for activities like “March to March” comes out of the $1 student rep fee. So that’s not reflected in the operating budget. It’s a separate budget.”
Regarding free food ASDC, gives out to the students, in order to receive free food, you have to purchase the $10 student ID. How is it free food if you have to purchase the ID?
Butler: Services provided by the food pantry are seen as a benefit for students who purchase a Mustang Pass. If you pay the $10 student activity fee, part of the benefit is you get the Mustang Pass and all of the benefit services or programs associated with it. The money that’s used to purchase the food is directly funded by student activities fee.
Henderson: So the food for the pantry isn’t donated?
Butler: “We do have food donated for groceries and staff but we buy the Food for Thought meals. We try to help students understand you’re paying $10 and overtime the benefits are greater than the cost. We have limited supplies. So we’re not busting out of the seams with all the different foods we have. We really don’t have enough to support the whole student body. So that’s another reason why it’s limited to students providing support by purchasing the Mustang Pass.
Henderson: ASDC spent $26,630 on contract services. Can you explain what that is?
Butler: That’s [used] anytime we’re using an outside individual. When we have our events like Jokes and Jams, we had Nate Jackson. He’s a comedian out of Seattle. We had to pay him. We also had a band [named] Bionics come out from SF and had different college hour events like the drum Circle. Our pens and promo item that we get either fall under contracts or supplies. Anytime we have someone to work for us, that’s what that’s coming from. It all goes back to the students. It’s important for students to realize when they see somebody on stage, it costs money. Plus we had to pay for production. Production is actually more expensive than the performer.
Henderson: ASDC spent $1250 on scholarships and grants. What kind of grants and awards are these?
Butler: “We have a student volunteer. She does all of our graphic artwork for our different flyers and things coming out. She works 10 hours a week. We already paid her $1250 and we will pay her another one going towards her education. She’s taking classes at the Art Institute in SF. That’s what that scholarship is for. ASDC is actually offering one right now for students who have a Mustang Pass and have shown involvement in various activities on campus. They’re giving out four $750 scholarships for transferring students and eight $250 scholarships students continuing at Delta College.”
Henderson: How would a student go about applying for one of these?
Butler: “They can apply on our website. Go to ASDC.deltacollege.edu, they’ll see a link for it there. Just fill that out and the deadline is May 15th.”
Henderson: Who controls the amount that you guys give out for the scholarships?
Butler: “The thing about student funds is it has to be approved by ASDC. The students approve the amount for budgets and scholarships.”
Henderson: Is there anything you would like to add with all the elections coming up?
Butler: “Elections are going really good. We have a lot of people running. We will have plenty of people in that competition. We’ve had six different orientations and we were able to send out a student email to all students. That definitely helped. The theme is ‘Level Up’. It’s really about helping and encouraging students to take their experience to the next level. If there students that just go to school and go home, maybe they might want to consider volunteer or participating in a club. Or if they’re already in a club, they can get more involved and engage on campus as a student leader in ASDC. Next week, we will be giving away prizes to help encourage them. Voting starts May 13th and 14th online.”
For more information on ASDC, you can got to their Monday meetings at 2:30 in the Shima Boardroom.
