Student Association officers used Monday night’s assembly meeting to announce it would not approve a proposal for a new University Union budget system for the next school year. SA officers met with UU representatives to discuss this proposal Monday morning.

The proposal was submitted to SA on Friday. SA needed to approve the proposal by the April 5 budget deadline in order for it to be in effect for the 2007-08 academic year.

‘We all agree with the philosophy of the proposal,’ said SA Parliamentarian Marko Markov, one of the officers involved in the decision. ‘It’s the nitty-gritty things that we want to work out.’

UU President Clarence Cross III said he was not surprised by the decision, but was shocked by the way it was presented. UU was not aware that the proposal would be delayed until 30 minutes before the SA meeting.

‘I find it very difficult to go from a 10:30 (a.m.) private meeting to a public SA meeting and be knocked down,’ he said. ‘This is something we’ve been working on for five weeks.’

The SA officers at the meeting – which included President Ryan Kelly, Vice President Marlene Goldenberg and Comptroller Mike Rizzolo – said they announced their decision publicly for transparency’s sake.

‘The students and student groups deserve the respect and right of knowing what is being discussed, especially dealing with the student activity fee,’ Kelly said.

The proposal would change UU’s funding system from a per-semester set up to a yearly one. Only a few groups at SU are funded in this fashion.

The proposal would also allow UU to keep a special account for extra budget money and event revenue. Each semester, all other SA-funded student groups must return their leftover money to the SA special programming account. Special programming funds are available by petition to any group needing extra funding.

‘By asking for less with more advance notice, theoretically (UU) would be able to book more artists cheaper,’ Rizzolo said. Additionally, keeping revenue and leftover funds would allow UU to ask for less each year, he said.

However, the special programming fund would no longer receive UU’s significant contribution, Rizzolo said. As a result, he and other members felt it was necessary to examine the bill longer than the time allowed by the upcoming budget deadline.

‘It didn’t feel appropriate to make an amendment of this magnitude in this short a time,’ Rizzolo said. ‘We wanted to make sure this stands the test of time.’

There was an ‘unnecessary disconnect’ between UU and SA while working on the proposal, Cross said. ‘It’s unfortunate because, really, we’ve all failed the students.’

Prior to the announcement, SA elected Mariama Sidique, Alec Sim and Ben Joiner to the assembly.

Appointments

Sidique will represent the College of Arts and Sciences, Sim the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and Joiner the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Other items

Kelly, in his weekly president’s report, announced SA was participating in the Vera House Campaign and had already donated money to the group. White Vera House bracelets were passed out during the meeting. SA is also co-sponsoring the Take Back the Night Campaign.

The Committee on University Affairs is meeting with administrators to discuss housing and dining hall issues, said committee chair Larry Seivert. He also reported that more than 1,250 students used shuttle service offered during Spring Break, which his committee arranged.

The next SA meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on Monday in Maxwell Auditorium.

Published on March 26, 2007 at 12:00 pm