EDITORIAL: Club accountability at stake
Editorial | 11/13/07
Posted online at 12:22 AM EST on 11/13/07
Student Events' recent call to remove themselves from the Finance Board's purview is troubling, yet it could open the floodgates for discussion on how the multistep process a club takes to justify its spending could be streamlined.
Currently, Student Events, like every other chartered and secured organization, receives funds from the Student Activities Fee each semester. And like every other club, they must justify each transaction to the Union Treasurer and the F-Board. The process becomes so time-consuming that according to Lauren Barish '08, Student Events' director, their focus moves away from planning events to dealing with a daily swarm of financial details.
Instead, Student Events would like to take the Student Events fee, which is already taken out of tuition annually ($105,000), bypass the F-Board and receive the funds directly, a proposal requiring an amendment to the Union Constitution that was sent straight to Director of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy for convenience.
If Student Events was troubled by any inefficiencies they have encountered in receiving or processing their funds, they should have engaged our elected officials-who are charged with distributing club funding-in discussion. Instead, they undermined our student leaders by running to the administration.
We agree with Student Events that it's a hassle to justify expenses on a line-item basis to the F-Board, but we encourage them and other clubs to meet with Union officials and discuss ways to make the process faster.
The amendment passed several years ago regarding the way the Student Activites Fee is distributed to clubs placed a burden on secured organizations like Student Events to hold themselves for the tuition money they spend. Student Events does keep careful records of their transactions and has been responsible with its finances, and Ms. Barish has offered to post the organization's budget online.
However, the landmark amendment was an important step toward making everyone fiscally responsible, and it shouldn't be undone by one club, which according to the proposal, seeks to "re-establish themselves as the leader in campus social life." Student Events already is a main social programming board. But they do and should continue to share this job with smaller clubs that also sponsor major events that attract a wide attendance, such as the Punk, Rock n' Roll Club.
While Student Events is a unique organization with different needs, this does not justify removing them from student oversight. It's important that all clubs, large and small, be held accountable to the students, whose money pays for our activities in the first place.
Currently, Student Events, like every other chartered and secured organization, receives funds from the Student Activities Fee each semester. And like every other club, they must justify each transaction to the Union Treasurer and the F-Board. The process becomes so time-consuming that according to Lauren Barish '08, Student Events' director, their focus moves away from planning events to dealing with a daily swarm of financial details.
Instead, Student Events would like to take the Student Events fee, which is already taken out of tuition annually ($105,000), bypass the F-Board and receive the funds directly, a proposal requiring an amendment to the Union Constitution that was sent straight to Director of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy for convenience.
If Student Events was troubled by any inefficiencies they have encountered in receiving or processing their funds, they should have engaged our elected officials-who are charged with distributing club funding-in discussion. Instead, they undermined our student leaders by running to the administration.
We agree with Student Events that it's a hassle to justify expenses on a line-item basis to the F-Board, but we encourage them and other clubs to meet with Union officials and discuss ways to make the process faster.
The amendment passed several years ago regarding the way the Student Activites Fee is distributed to clubs placed a burden on secured organizations like Student Events to hold themselves for the tuition money they spend. Student Events does keep careful records of their transactions and has been responsible with its finances, and Ms. Barish has offered to post the organization's budget online.
However, the landmark amendment was an important step toward making everyone fiscally responsible, and it shouldn't be undone by one club, which according to the proposal, seeks to "re-establish themselves as the leader in campus social life." Student Events already is a main social programming board. But they do and should continue to share this job with smaller clubs that also sponsor major events that attract a wide attendance, such as the Punk, Rock n' Roll Club.
While Student Events is a unique organization with different needs, this does not justify removing them from student oversight. It's important that all clubs, large and small, be held accountable to the students, whose money pays for our activities in the first place.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
no name
posted 11/13/07 @ 3:15 PM EST
Student Events is trying to do the right thing, but unfortunately went about it the wrong way. When the campus main programming group is spending too much of its time dealing with financial mumbo-jumbo, its productivity falls. (Continued…)
Just saying...
posted 11/16/07 @ 1:24 AM EST
Good points, except you ruin your credibility by failing to even mention that the Justice already has the special privilege of operating outside the F-board's purview. (Continued…)
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