The budget for Marquette Student Government is set proportionally to the number of students attending the university, and this year the number has reached $513,050.

Michael Thiel, a senior in the College of Business Administration and the financial vice president for MUSG, said this is the largest budget MUSG has ever had.

It is also the first time the budget has surpassed half a million dollars, he said.

This year’s budget saw an increase of $17,250 from 2009-’10. Of last year’s $495,800 budget, $269,850 went to programs and $163,200 went to student organizations, with a little more than $60,000 going to various administrative and service expenses.

MUSG President Meghan Ladwig, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she is excited about working with such a large budget because of the opportunities it affords MUSG to increase money for speakers, concerts and After Dark programs. It also provides the chance to help struggling student organizations, she said.

Executive Vice President Joseph Ciccone, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the government will look to equally allocate funds between events and student organizations this year.

Program Vice President Carly Nusser, a senior in the College of Communication, will be overseeing funds going toward programs for students.

Nusser said she expects this year’s student programs to be as popular as last year’s, which included a sold-out Girl Talk concert and a sponsored trip to a Brewers/Cubs game at Miller Park.

According to Thiel, MUSG has not yet spent any of the money, but will soon be footing the bill for Mania Week, a week-long series of events that took place last week to greet incoming freshmen.

“In the end, nearly all of our budget is sent back to the students either through outreach, campus wide programs or the Student Organizations Allocation process,” Ciccone said.