The Justice

Media Credit: David Sheppard-Brick Student Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 delivered her State of the Union address in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium last Monday night. Photo by David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice.

Challenges concerning social life and student autonomy were at the heart of Student Union President Shreeya Sinha's '09 State of the Union address last Monday night in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium, as she reflected on the past year's Union administration.

Another challenge that Sinha spoke about was the change in the allocation process of the Student Activities Fee. She said this conflicted with "our ability to self govern." The Finance Board no longer allocates 17 percent of the SAF to Student Events. Instead, the money now goes directly to the Department of Student Activities, which in turn gives it to Student Events.

"Our rights as students and the Union's democratic process were greatly violated by a decision made by Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy," Sinha said.

Eddy, who attended the speech, told the Justice in January that the Union's considerable rollover funds was one reason to change the allocation process. In her speech, Sinha said that $174,000 in rollover has accumulated over the past six years.

"I wish that her view of the rollover would have been a little more comprehensive," Eddy said. "She was off by hundreds of thousands. That's concerning."

Eddy also said she has been asking Union officials for a proposal since September, but that she has not received anything. "The SAF is for all students," she said. "We should make a comprehensive plan on how we use it."

Sinha, however, said that with change, "We traded a system of funding based on proportional need to one based on an arbitrary percentage."

Last December, in response to Eddy's decision, the Union organized a demonstration outside of the Bernstein-Marcus administration complex. Sinha, in an interview after her speech, described the demonstration as the high point of her presidency.

Sinha announced the Union's plan to propose a cap on the SAF for a year. In that time, the Union could solve its rollover problem, she said. "To increase would just be over taxing the student body," she said. Clubs will be able to apply for parts of the rollover funds to organize large scale events, Sinha said.

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