Correction appended
Student Government reopened the campus debate about the many problems with the Student Activities fee. It’s ironic how SG keeps trying to solve this issue, because SG is the problem.
The narrative on Student Activities is generally negative. Student organizations across campus complain about the inefficiency within the department; they are slow, they are always in meetings and they are just in general unhelpful.
But the bureaucratic Student Activity office is not the root of the problem. The real issue comes from how our money is allocated.
Since 2002, the Student Activity fee has remained relatively stable with SG receiving 72 percent of the budget.
As we mentioned in a staff editorial last semester, this break down leaves all other student organizations scrambling for funds and desperately making cuts. To mention a few: ATV uses recording equipment from the ‘70s, our radio station WVAU cannot afford to host concerts on campus, The Eagle had to cut down to one print issue a semester. And these are all just within the Student Media Board.
SG, on the other hand, is stocked with sufficient funds for their events plus some more. Not only does SG President Patrick Kelly get paid $10,000 per year (and many of their other staff members get paid as well), but in their budget they receive money to allocate specifically to advertising material, a luxury other student organizations do not receive. In fact, Student Activities gives SG $3,011 for bottle openers and water bottles, and $517 for coffee mugs. Most student clubs barely get $517 for an entire semester.
The answer to this problem is not to simply shovel more of our family or personal finances into Student Activities. In order for things on campus to become fair, there will have to be deep structural change in the way the funds are allocated within Student Activities. Raising the Student Activity fee for students will not have an effect on the disproportionate amount of money given to SG.
Currently, there is so much bureaucracy within SG that it has become unclear what they even do. With their various departments and many members, it is a system built to be unproductive.
It’s hard to believe that the University has not noticed this structural problem with SG. The administration must hear the complaints of student groups on campus, and assuming they’ve looked at the SG numbers, it seems odd that nothing has been done.
Student clubs and media are what make a university unique. Whether it’s printing a newspaper, organizing a food drive or playing a sport, these organizations allow students to enjoy themselves and explore interests outside of class. AU needs to recognize the importance of this issue, before students get so disheartened that they give up altogether.
We’re tired of paying for mugs and water bottles we can’t even drink from. – E
Correction: A former version of this staff editorial stated SG President Pat Kelly earned $10,000 per semester. This was corrected to $10,000 per year. It also previously stated that “WAMU cannot hold concerts on campus,” and this has been corrected to WVAU.
