For the first time in recent memory, the Undergraduate Council voted last night to allot less than $100,000 to student groups--falling below a target figure that was a source of pride for the council.

During a protracted meeting last night, the Undergraduate Council approved a much smaller budget for the upcoming year. The most striking cuts came from the grants fund, which declined from about $119,000 last year to about $96,000, a decrease of almost 20 percent.

"This year the council is bleeding," representative Paul A. Gusmorino III '02 said. "All of the bleeding is being done by the grants fund."

Most of last night's debate centered on the psychological $100,000 barrier. John P. Marshall '01 sponsored an amendment to bring the grants fund to exactly $100,000, saying it had been a great accomplishment in the past.

"It was a big challenge to get us there," Marshall argued.

Council members searched for ways to exceed the $100,000 target, including taking money from the committee fund--which funds council-sponsored events like Springfest--or a special fund of money left over from two years ago when the council found $40,000 that had accumulated because of accounting oversights. That fund now totals only about $7,000.

"It probably won't be floating around for much longer, since we're spending it very quickly," former council treasurer Sterling P.A. Darling '01 told the council.

Justin A. Barkley '02 argued against any further reductions in the committee fund, saying that activities--Springfest and the First-Year Formal among others--are "the real stuff we do in council."