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EDITORIAL: SAF rollover misdirected
Students shouldn't pay
Editorial | 9/9/08
Posted online at 3:31 AM EST on 9/9/08
Brandeis University has a $785 million endowment and took in record donations exceeding $90 million last year. Yet we the students are footing the bill for a new weight room in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.
The Student Union announced last year that there was approximately $100,000 left over in the Student Activities Fund. We shall set aside the fact that it is unfair that we are overcharged collectively by $100,000, but we understand that the University cannot give students a cash refund. As a result, the Union had students suggest projects on which to spend the excess funds and vote on what idea to spend the money on. After the votes were counted, the winning proposal, by a mere 22 out of fewer than 1,200 votes, was the purchase of new equipment for the weight room.
We are not arguing that the gym does not need new equipment; it does, badly. But the Student Activities Fee is intended to pay for student club needs and Student Events activities, not University maintenance. The University and students should agree on a clear division between what the University, via its substantial endowment, pays for and what the students pay for through the SAF. Brandeis is responsible for, among other projects, building upkeep, road maintenance and food services. Loop Road needs to be repaved as much as the gym needs new equipment; just as the University would foot the bill to pave Loop Road, it should pay for the new weight room.
If the University notices a student poll demonstrating a desire for an item or project for which it is responsible, it should step in and take responsibility for that endeavor.
This is not to say that the University should follow every directive that resounds through the community as a whole. One need not be a History major to know that popular opinion is often devoid of merit. And that is the purpose of the SAF, to pay for items that the students want and agree are beneficial but that the University is not obligated to fund. Students must educate themselves as to the most fitting proposals for the use of our SAF money and, in the event of a future poll on how to use rollover funds, vote accordingly. Ideas such as a celebratory Peace and Social Justice Week and the purchase of a new WBRS transmitter are excellent examples of appropriate use of SAF funds.
Brandeis is one of the premier institutions in the United States, and it costs over $46,000 a year to attend. For a price tag just about equal to the U.S. median household income, we should be entitled to, at the very least, quality buildings with top-of-the-line equipment, and we should not have to pay extra for them.
The Student Union announced last year that there was approximately $100,000 left over in the Student Activities Fund. We shall set aside the fact that it is unfair that we are overcharged collectively by $100,000, but we understand that the University cannot give students a cash refund. As a result, the Union had students suggest projects on which to spend the excess funds and vote on what idea to spend the money on. After the votes were counted, the winning proposal, by a mere 22 out of fewer than 1,200 votes, was the purchase of new equipment for the weight room.
We are not arguing that the gym does not need new equipment; it does, badly. But the Student Activities Fee is intended to pay for student club needs and Student Events activities, not University maintenance. The University and students should agree on a clear division between what the University, via its substantial endowment, pays for and what the students pay for through the SAF. Brandeis is responsible for, among other projects, building upkeep, road maintenance and food services. Loop Road needs to be repaved as much as the gym needs new equipment; just as the University would foot the bill to pave Loop Road, it should pay for the new weight room.
If the University notices a student poll demonstrating a desire for an item or project for which it is responsible, it should step in and take responsibility for that endeavor.
This is not to say that the University should follow every directive that resounds through the community as a whole. One need not be a History major to know that popular opinion is often devoid of merit. And that is the purpose of the SAF, to pay for items that the students want and agree are beneficial but that the University is not obligated to fund. Students must educate themselves as to the most fitting proposals for the use of our SAF money and, in the event of a future poll on how to use rollover funds, vote accordingly. Ideas such as a celebratory Peace and Social Justice Week and the purchase of a new WBRS transmitter are excellent examples of appropriate use of SAF funds.
Brandeis is one of the premier institutions in the United States, and it costs over $46,000 a year to attend. For a price tag just about equal to the U.S. median household income, we should be entitled to, at the very least, quality buildings with top-of-the-line equipment, and we should not have to pay extra for them.
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