Student groups leaders expressed overwhelming support at Wednesday’s Associated Student Government meeting for a proposed bill they said would create a more efficient advising system between group leaders and ASG committees.
A-status groups, which are eligible to receive funding from the Student Activities Finance Board, now have advisers from both the Executive Committee and SAFB. Although Executive Committee advisers are supposed to assist their student groups in programming, A-status groups often go to their SAFB representative with concerns instead, said Srikanth Reddy, ASG’s executive vice president.
“The (current) system only acts as a hindrance to student groups,” said Reddy, a McCormick junior and former SAFB member.
The proposed bill calls for student groups to work solely with their SAFB adviser, eliminating the Executive Committee’s involvement.
“I feel like it’s going to facilitate the process of communication between student groups, the executive board and SAFB,” said Tori Moran, a senator for the Panhellenic Association and a Speech junior. “Having to report to two different groups is too complicated right now.”
Reporting to only one representative would improve communication, other senators said.
“It really clearly delineates the responsibilities each committee should have,” said Neil Shah, the senator for A&O Productions and a Weinberg senior. “The real clincher is that groups will get to know their adviser.”
Reddy said the Executive Committee would focus entirely on B- and T- (Temporary) status groups, which don’t receive SAFB funding. The bill also would expand SAFB from 10 to 12 members, allowing each member to advise three to four A-status groups.
“When your account executive only has to work with three groups, it’s easy to know what’s going on,” said Noreen Khalid, senator for Women’s Coalition and a Speech junior.
But although he supports the bill, College Democrats President Colin Proksel said he is concerned about increasing the power of the financial vice president, who heads the SAFB and is not an elected position.
Calling the bill a good idea overall, Proksel said the post of financial vice president should become an elected one if it gained more power.
Financial Vice President Carson Kuo said the position should not be subject to a campus-wide election because it might politicize the funding process. If a student group were to endorse a candidate for the position, it could present a perceived conflict of interest when the group applies for funding, he said.
“If a group supports you, does it mean you owe them something?” said Kuo, an Education senior.
Despite any concerns about the balance of power, students group leaders said the bill would give each campus organization more individualized attention, as A-status groups could deal exclusively with SAFB and B- and T-status groups could develop stronger relationships with the executive committee.
“It will really help student groups establish themselves and even work their way up to achieve what they want,” said Jane Lee, a Weinberg freshman and a senator for Nugget Investment Group, a B-status student group. “It will definitely allow student groups to get what they want out of ASG.”