Mariko Kuroda is a small girl with big dreams. A dainty force to be reckoned with, Kuroda has ambitious goals for the university. She plans to start the first ever handbell ensemble that NYUAD has ever seen.

Handbells date back to the 17th century and consist of a group of musicians who ring bells with different tones.

“I love the unity that handbells entail,” Kuroda said. “If one person in the group is missing, then the music crumbles. And if we’re not on beat and we’re not breathing together, then the music crumbles. I just want the NYUAD community to enjoy and appreciate and discover the beauty of handbells.”

To do this, Kuroda has formed a handbell SIG, an idea suggested to her by Campus Life as the easiest way to approach receiving funding for resources.

Yet, Kuroda has encountered many difficulties trying to finance her endeavor. A set of bronze handbells costs 14,000 U.S. dollars – a steep price that Student Government can’t afford. Kuroda is willing to settle for a 3,000-dollar set of handchimes. But even these, which greatly limit the volume and style of handbell music, were a struggle to procure. According to Kuroda, it took a month to hash out prices and negotiate with both the sellers and the Student Government, which includes the process of getting the SIG approved and revising its budget. Although Kuroda is now set on ordering the cheaper set, she is left with only two months of the school year to gather her seven-person ensemble and scrape together a performance.

And even with the handchimes, Kuroda is lacking an integral part of music playing – the notes themselves. At the moment, her ensemble does not have any sheet music. Each sheet costs roughly five U.S. dollars, but Kuroda has been approved for enough sheet music for only one song.

“My options now are to illegally download, or compose my own music,” Kuroda jokes, delicate fingers shoved into her inky mass of hair. She feels that the new status of her SIG poses a disadvantage.

“If I had started in the fall, there would have been time for the SIG to grow,” she said.

Like Kuroda, freshman Nino Cricco, a leader of the new visual arts SIG 1607 has experienced similar difficulties in terms of receiving funding as a new SIG this semester.

“It’s hard considering that older SIGs get priority because they have a more established history of doing a good job,” said Cricco. “But I think [Student Government] is doing a good job of getting people to have realistic expectations and not just letting people spend tons of money on the most expensive pizza.”

Cricco’s SIG had to make several cuts on art supplies, which are already expensive and scarce in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s been hard adjusting our expectations, which were extremely unrealistic.” Cricco said, looking down to smile at his rubber flip-flops. “Extremely unrealistic.”

But many pre-existing SIGs say that cutbacks have not noticeably impacted their SIGs’ day-to-day procedures.

“We are pleased with the current situation of Blacksmith and [Abu Dhabi Campus Fellowship],” said junior Stephen Underwood of the two SIGS he is involved with. He is leader of Blacksmith, a coffee appreciation SIG, and the treasurer of ADCF, a group of Christian students who organize events for people of all backgrounds.

Freshman Jules Bello, current leader for the Music Society, echoes this sentiment.

“Open Mic was one of those things where we were operating with the expectation that we’d get funds,” Bello said. “The cuts haven’t meant too much yet.”

On the other hand, two students commenting on their financial condition only on the basis of anonymity, are attempting to start a new athletic SIG and running into some difficulties. Athletics SIGS are funded mainly by the Athletics Department, which dedicates 12 percent of its budget for SIG funding.

“Everyone’s been very helpful,” said one student. “But when it comes down to it, we need money, and the money’s not there.”

“The old SIGs get priority funding,” the student’s co-leader added. “The problem with new SIGs is we can’t be certain of how much interest there’ll be. So the Athletics Department might as well put the money where people like it.”

After two years of greater flexibility, the Athletics Department – similar to Student Government – is tightening its policies. There is an attendance minimum of 10 people per athletic SIG.

“We have to make sure a SIG is valid, that there are 15 to 20 members and not just a couple of friends getting together,” said Wayne Young, Associate Director of Athletics. “SIGs have to hold a certain amount of meetings where attendance is taken.”

Student Government is also revising its policies regarding SIGs. As of now, maximum spending limits have been set for food at meetings, and members of the Funding Board will occasionally drop in on meetings to make sure that there is sufficient membership as well.

Treasurer Angelina Micha-Djaja said that Student Government has an allotted semester budget from Campus Life, which has remained unchanged this semester. The team is trying to make it clear that the main reason for these cutbacks is not a decrease in finances, but rather a surge of new SIGs this semester. In the past two weeks alone, six new SIGs have been created.

“Members of the previous Student Funding Board say it took them a lot less time to go through the budgets for last semester,” Micha-Djaja said. “They had enough money because there were less SIGs who asked for less. Now the mentality’s more like, ‘Oh I got this much last year so let’s try to do more and get more this semester.’ As SIGs try to grow, they are trying to take on more initiatives.”

As the university anticipates the arrival of a new freshman class in the fall of 2013, and consequently a slew of more SIGs, it is important, Micha-Djaja said, to consider what is absolutely necessary for funding. Right now, 51 percent of SIG money goes to food – the plethora of pizza, sushi and baked goods that lure in new members and bolster meeting attendance. The spending for this food eats up spending for important SIG resources such as handbells or, for example, art supplies.

So while SIGs may be seeing cuts in their pizza funds, this is ultimately because Student Government is trying to help SIGs get the resources they need to fulfill and stay true to their initial missions.

“Our goal is to try to work with these SIGs,” Micha-Djaja said. “They contribute to the university’s goals and enrich our education.”

Renee Dugan, Assistant Dean of Campus Life, said that both Student Government and Campus Life are working hard to ensure that transparency is a priority for the future.

“As we grow, I am sure we will continue to refine our processes to best to ensure that equitable opportunities are available to all groups,” Dugan said. “Minutes from General Assembly meetings are posted after every meeting, and campus life staff meets frequently with Student Government to ensure that policies are developed and rolled out in a thoughtful and effective manner.”