When Ohm Khempila ’10, a Residental Advisor (RA) in WestCo, heard that his program budget for the year had been slashed, he didn’t get worked up. Instead, Khempila began searching for a silver lining.

“The economic downturn could actually help you think more,” Khempila said. “If you know you have the money, you always take things for granted. But now money is scarce, so you want to spend it wisely and get the most out of it.”

The budget for RAs and House Managers (HMs) has been cut in half for the 2009-2010 academic year.

“The cut was part of a division-wide effort to reduce spending,” said Associate Director of Residential Life Maureen Isleib in an e-mail to The Argus. “The entire Residential Life programming budget was reduced by about 33 percent.”

RAs and HMs are required to host at least six programs per semester. RAs tend to direct their programs at their residents, whereas HMs often target their programs at the larger campus community.

HMs were provided with a total budget of $13 per resident per semester this year—a $7 decline from last year’s budget of approximately $20. Many RAs, however, have yet to be given a set figure for the year; some have been told the budget for their entire dorm, whereas others know of no specific numbers at all.

“[Residential Life] didn’t tell us the amount of money we actually have,” said one RA who asked to remain anonymous. “They said they didn’t want to limit our imagination.”

With their decreased budgets, this means that residential leaders are being encouraged to find innovative ways to design programs. Kevin Donohoe ’12, an RA in WestCo, said that he does not feel limited by the amount of money provided.

“As an RA, I feel that I have plenty of money,” he said. “I expected to receive less.”

Khempila, a second-year RA, said that he believes the budget cuts will not impede the goal of bringing residents together.

“I would be restricted in terms of spending money for my events, but that also means that I have to try to be more resourceful,” he said.

One challenge for residential leaders this year may be finding new ways to attract residents to the programs being held. In the past, a popular trend among RAs has been providing food from local restaurants as part of programs.

“Usually money is spent on food because food really connects people,” Khempila said. “It’s an incentive for people to come to your event. [This year], we could cook instead to save money.”

To make programs more affordable, RAs and HMs can co-sponsor programs with other halls or houses, or seek money from other sources.

“There are a variety of funding sources available outside of their respective programming budgets,” Isleib said. “For example, there is a separate Residential Life fund for programs involving faculty.”

HMs also have the option of holding fundraising events. Earth House, an environmentally-focused program house, has held “veg-outs” in past years, charging a small amount of money for a home-cooked dinner. Full House, the cooking-themed program house, is throwing a “Midnight Munchies,” party at 11:55 p.m. today, charging three dollars for a slice of gourmet pizza.

Jennifer Liebschutz ’11, Bayit HM, said she believes that RA and HM budgets needed to be cut.

“Bringing us to a budget has brought us to reality,” she said. “If [residential leaders] are motivated, they’ll look for the money.”