In last spring’s student government elections, ASPSU President Hannah Fisher and Vice President Kyle Cady ran on a platform promising to pay student senators, a body of student government members that have previously been unpaid. Fisher and Cady recently said raising ASPSU’s stipend cap would allow them to compensate the senators, giving student government the opportunity to establish a stronger checks-and-balances system. “ASPSU Senators must be paid for the Senate to be an effective third branch of the government,” Cady said.
ASPSU moving toward paying student senate
In last spring’s student government elections, ASPSU President Hannah Fisher and Vice President Kyle Cady ran on a platform promising to pay student senators, a body of student government members that have previously been unpaid.
Fisher and Cady recently said raising ASPSU’s stipend cap would allow them to compensate the senators, giving student government the opportunity to establish a stronger checks-and-balances system.
“ASPSU Senators must be paid for the Senate to be an effective third branch of the government,” Cady said. The Educational Stipend Policy Review Committee is currently looking to increase the cap 6 percent across the board for student groups and departments funded by the Student Fee Committee (SFC).
Fisher and Cady–both members of the committee–are asking for ASPSU’s stipend cap to be increased by approximately 51.5 percent. This would raise ASPSU’s overall stipend cap from nearly $132,000 to $200,000.
The SFC allocated nearly $12 million in student fees last year to groups like the Vanguard and athletics.
The Senate consists of 25 voting members, three non-voting members and the ASPSU vice president, who serves as the chair of the Senate, and may vote in case of a tie. Fisher and Cady would like to pay each of the senators approximately $200 per month.
In addition to paying the student senate, Fisher said the increased stipend funds would pay the Elections Board, Judicial Board and two Executive Branch positions ASPSU had recently cut to compensate senators until a permanent means of funding was found.
If the stipend committee approves the proposal, the Dean of Students Michele Toppe and the General Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate must then sign off on the increases.
“It’s very realistic that the stipend policy will go through by August 1. We are trying to expedite that process. I’m hoping we can do that,” Toppe said, who appointed members to the stipend committee.
Cady said that senators, while representing students as a whole, are required to perform checks over the Executive Branch, the Judicial Board and the SFC. The Senate has the ability to overturn judicial decisions, approve appointments, bylaws, budgets and constitutional amendments.
Former Vice President Brad Vehafric said the senator positions require large amounts of time and most students are unable to uphold the responsibility without monetary support. This leaves a large portion of the Senate unable to attend important meetings because of personal responsibilities.
“If senators are able to prioritize the job as a result of the financial flexibility that a paid position would allow, more work would be done,” Vehafric said in an e-mail.
“While somehow, someway we made quorum at all our meetings (with one exception being our final meeting of the year) it was precarious at best,” Vehafric said. “Some meetings were canceled when we knew that quorum wouldn’t happen.”
Past administrations have made similar attempts to pay student senators. Jesse Bufton, 2006-07 ASPSU vice president, and Vehafric in 2007-08 both tried to tackle the obstacle of paying the Senate. Bufton and Vehafric were unable to secure the funds necessary to pay the senators.
“It’s shaping up to be a tremendous year of accomplishment in which ASPSU and the student body will make great gains toward increasing student power and participation,” Cady said.
