The Student Fee Committee should be commended for the job it did putting together the final budget for the 2009-10 academic year despite a particularly contentious budget season.
Being involved in student government—especially the SFC—can be a trying experience, and while this year’s group was far from perfect, they saved their year with the thoughtful way in which they allocated student funds and kept the student incidental fee at a reasonable level.
Faced with a record $21.4 million in requests from 94 student groups and departments, the SFC managed to whittle that figure down to $14.7 million in allocations while raising the student fee only $10 per term, bringing it to $212 per term.
Because only $11.5 million was collected this year, the committee faced a $3.2 million deficit. It would have been easy for the committee to simply raise the fee to compensate, but that would have meant increasing the fee by $65 to $70.
The committee used $1.7 million in reserve funds to help bridge the gap, but that still would have meant raising the fee by $30. Instead, the committee then made the tough decision to cut all student-group budgets by 15 percent across the board on all requests outside of personnel to get fee down to a $10 increase.
In addition to the nuts and bolts of figuring out a reasonable budget, the committee was also plagued by a difficult start that included a line of questioning that made some student groups feel uncomfortable and threatened to overshadow the initial hearings.
While the process wasn’t perfect, the end result is that the SFC fulfilled both of its duties: serve student groups and protect the student body at large.
Especially impressive was the committee’s cognizance of rising tuition costs and the $41 per term Campus Recreation fee students will begin paying once the new recreation center opens fall term 2009.
That there were problems during the budget season is neither surprising nor particularly concerning. Much like student publications or a host of other student groups, student government is meant to act as an educational laboratory where students are free to make mistakes and learn from them.
This is perhaps the true measure of whether a particular body has been effective. We don’t ask that our student politicians be perfect human beings. We only ask that mistakes aren’t repeated and that they serve as catalysts for better understanding and more effective government.
It is heartening to see that this year’s SFC was able to rebound from their dismal start and come up with a solution to a difficult situation that benefited the entire campus. Kudos.