The Budget Oversight Committee made a wise choice in leaving the students’ co-curricular trust accounts untouched in its search for $2.3 million in budget cuts for the current school year.

President Judy Walters had instructed the committee to consider using these funds when scouring other budget categories for unspent, one-time money. But these student-generated funds amounted to a mere $140,000 in a list of $2.6 million possibilities.

And the committee Wednesday recommended a 2 percent across-the-board cut in division operating budgets, rather than taking money raised by students and volunteer faculty and staff to cover necessities the college does not provide.

Twenty-three programs rely on this money, including the music industries studies, chorale, symphonic band, jazz ensemble, orchestra, chorus, guitar ensemble, jazz workshop, performing arts, horticulture, business workshops, multimedia, journalism, dance performance and nine sports programs.

And it comes in through ticket sales to drama productions, concerts and sporting events, plant sales, and volunteers who work the snack counter at athletic games or help with rentals of the college’s athletic facilities by outside groups.

Without this money, programs would have folded or had to search for new sources of revenue to pay for such basic needs as uniforms, equipment, costs of away-games, conferences and facility upgrades and repairs.

The Inquirer itself was in danger of losing a little over $15,000 we have raised through the sale of advertisements in our newspaper. This money is used to pay for supplies that exceed the $800 supply budget from the college, new computers, photography equipment, software, state and regional journalism conferences and much more.

The BOC was tasked with a tough decision, but they made the right choice in deciding to make up the budget deficit by taking 2 percent of each departments’ operating budgets instead of taking over any co-curricular accounts.

Although it was President Walters herself who proposed the co-curricular accounts for consideration, she told an Inquirer reporter, “On a personal basis, I hope we don’t have to go that route.”

Walters placed the burden squarely on the shoulders of the committee, perhaps to distance herself from alienating any constituent groups.

For students, already facing class closures next semester, the sparing of the co-curricular trust funds represent the one bright spot so far.