USG debates allocation of student activity fee

Daily Egyptian

Next year, the Undergraduate Student Government will have about $450,000 to allocate to Registered Student Organizations, and USG president-elect Nate Brown wants to change how the money is distributed. "I think student organizations need to have more say in what gets funded and how it gets funded," Brown said.

Brown wants funding to be decided by a committee consisting of senators and the leaders of umbrella student organizations, he said. Brown did not mention representation for smaller student groups but said he would have the ultimate say in funding decisions.

Mary-Kate Bredel, USG's executive assistant, said Wednesday's senate meeting would be more than 90 percent funding matters. The senate has to look at and approve spring allocations for umbrella organizations that totals more than $270,000.

Full-time students pay the $31.90 student fee, which is given out by USG's finance committee to student organizations so they can sponsor events open to the entire campus. Brown, who will also be sworn in as USG president Wednesday, wants leaders of student organizations to be active members of the committee to allow senators time focus on other issues.

Andy Fruth, chair of the finance committee, said giving decision-making power to the leaders of student organizations creates a conflict of interest.

"They're people that are asking for money, too," Fruth said. "When you have people who are asking for money in charge of the money, you run into problems." It is human nature for them to favor organizations they are a part of, Fruth said. Brown said favoritism may occur, but putting the leaders of student groups on the committee would work under the honor system.

Ed Ford, who is concluding his term as student trustee, said there is more at stake than some student groups receiving favorable treatment. "I think the long-term implications are we won't have a student government anymore," Ford said. "Historically, the activity fee is one thing students have been directly in charge of. If you can't do the one thing you really do, how can you do anything else?"

The activity fee is the foundation of USG, Ford said, and from that stems the credibility to voice the opinions of the common student to the administration. Ford said he is an advocate of giving student government control of more money. In addition to the money paid for an education, students also pay fees for a student attorney, the Student Center, the activity fee, the Recreation Center, athletics, a campus recreation fund, the mass transit system and some medical costs. In the fall 2005 semester alone, a student with 12 credit hours will pay $743.50 in fees.

"Students are paying all these fees," Ford said. "I think students should have a decision in all the fee units. Students are directly producing the revenue for all these services."

Ford said if students began a mass boycott of the student center fee, the University would have no choice but to turn control of it over to the student government. But holding onto the money they already have should be the first priority.

"Once you have something, how can you give it up and say 'We're making ourselves stronger?'" Ford said. "If we want to have a greater stake in the decisions made on campus, we got to have more involvement and full control over the decision-making we have now."

Unlike Ford, Brown thinks a change will make student government stronger because new senators who come to USG to voice their opinions on student issues, end up spending hours on financial issues. Senators are not the only ones who hate dealing with the lengthy funding procedure. Brown said student groups hate USG because they can't get the money they want.

Fruth said one reason for the dissatisfaction is student groups come to USG thinking the activity fee is intended to fund their group instead of events. "RSOs see it as 'We're coming to USG to get our money,'" he said. "We're really trying to get off of it. We're not funding groups, we're funding events."

Tequia Hicks, the outgoing USG president and student trustee-elect, said Brown's radical change is unnecessary and the process only needs to be tweaked. "I think our funding process is not perfect, but it's still building," Hicks said. "It needs some more building still, but it doesn't need to be thrown away."