Opinion

Student Government Is Over-Funded

We shouldn't have to pay for concerts and carnivals

By Robert Wright

Posted on Nov. 14, 2005, at 12:00 a.m.

In Thursday’s issue of The Maine Campus, student government president Kate O’Brien quoted a selection from SG’s constitution. However, she failed to mention another selection from the same document stating SG’s mission is “to expand the scope of the educational experience; by providing the most effective use of student money and effort.”

Our money with SG is not used effectively by any means, nor is most of it used for educational purposes. After insurance payments, full-time staff, and paid student positions, a lot of our money is already gone. Many of the allocations are extremely questionable in terms of what our money provides for our educational experience. I strongly object that SG provides the “most effective and efficient use of Student Activity Fee.”

Casino night is alright, but programs like Bumstock, Kickin’ Flicks, Winter Carnival and Spring Fling are disappointing drains on our finances.

We pay $35 each semester for the student activity fee. I could get more entertainment with that money if I bought two DVDs or went to Ushuaia eight times.

The Student Senate voted unanimously to support “No” on Question 1, while 19 percent of students who voted on campus voted “Yes.” This shows that the student senate fails to accurately represent the views of all students on this campus.

Despite what O’Brien said, it is highly skeptical that 81 percent of the student body, the same amount that voted ‘No’ on 1, considers the new expensive fitness center to be a high priority. She justified this claim with an online poll.

Do you think the Pew or Gallop polls state their findings based on online polls? An online vote is not an accurate statistical sampling of student views on campus, since only those who wanted to participate in the poll voted.

I demand my right to a quality education and real input with the university. Couldn’t the increased tuition and fees be better used for our education than for another gym?

Decrepit classrooms are not conducive to learning. What should have been presented is a vote to either allocate funds between building the new gym or renovating decrepit classrooms and improving quality of instruction. How many of you know that the university tried to cut the German department a few years back, even with its high enrollment, due to budget cuts? While the German department and its students stood up successfully against the university’s proposal, there was a net reduction in German professors.

I met with O’Brien recently and she brought up that I was the president of the German Club. She said that the German Club was officially unrecognized as a university club due to inactivity. She told me this on Wednesday, two days after my article criticizing SG was published, This claim of “inactivity” can be disputed by anyone who has attended one of our bi-weekly meetings, movie nights or our booth at Culture Fest last Saturday.

The lack of transparency within SG, private meetings allegedly discussing problems and concerns, along with lack of action in solving many problems that this university has faced for years highlights the need for change in SG. Perhaps they are stretching themselves too thin dealing with wasteful and unnecessary entertainment programs and creating politically charged resolutions, all while not having the priority of lobbying the university for positive changes to enhance our education. I studied abroad for three semesters in Europe, and the savings of $10,000-plus played a major part in my decision. I think that the SG has their priorities mixed up. They should accept constructive criticism, strive for meaningful changes within the university, and try to give the students the most bang for our huge bucks. And our bucks stop with SG.

The SG’s reactions to my previous article proved that students’ opinions are not vauled, and dissent is unacceptable. They treat us like a flock of sheep, and they’re our shepherd. If we stray, we will be yanked back in.

Supporting their propaganda is the same as saying that we cannot make an educated decision on our own. I will be damned before anyone takes away my freedom of speech.

Robert Wright hopes that all students will think for themselves.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 14th, 2005, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.