Associated Student Government senators will vote tonight on the ASG 2002-03 operating budget, which would allocate $22,000 for an attorney service and $30,500 for the Chicago shuttle.
The two requests make up more than half of the $87,627 budget, while the remaining amount would pay for administrative expenses such as office supplies and publicity for student events.
“You could argue that without (the attorney and shuttle) services, ASG could still function, whereas without things like paper, you couldn’t,” said ASG Treasurer Edwin Chan.
While the proposed budget allocated $18,000 less for the lawyer than last year, ASG had to pay for the shuttle service, causing an overall budget increase of $11,000. The shuttle was not funded out of the operating budget last year.
“We need to be an advocate for things we see that students need that other student groups can’t provide,” said off-campus Senator Rachel Lopez, a Weinberg junior.
During last year’s debate on the 2001-02 operating budget, senators raised concerns that the $40,000 proposed to hire the lawyer could be better spent on student group programming. Money for the ASG operating budget comes from the same pool of money used to fund student groups during Student Activities Finance Board recommendations.
Since Jan. 14, ASG lawyer Patty Marinakis has met with students Tuesdays and Thursdays. She has seen six or seven students, she said.
Because her contract limits her advising role, Marinakis cannot follow a case into litigation. In addition, she cannot give advice to students on conflicts with Northwestern or with other students.
“I’ve had to turn down a lot of students because of these different parameters,” Marinakis said. “If they want to make sure they’re adequately protected, they should seek out an attorney who can dedicate more time to their matter on an on-going basis.”
ASG President Jordan Heinz said the number of students seeking Marinakis’ advice has exceeded his expectations.
“She’s been much more widely used than expected,” Heinz said. But it will take more time to tell if the ASG lawyer is worth the cost, Heinz said.
“You can’t evaluate (the service) on five days,” said Heinz, an Education senior. “That’s why we need more time.”
A&O Productions Senator Neil Shah said ASG should not fund the attorney until the service’s merit could be evaluated.
“It definitely would have been more responsible for ASG to ask for the money after they see whether it succeeds or not,” said Shah, a Weinberg senior. “There’s a lot more world good that can be done for $22,000 than give it to a lawyer who sees seven students in two weeks. If it were $22,000, and she was busy then I might think it was worth it.”
Also at tonight’s meeting, two new bills will be introduced. One calls for ASG to create an online guide to Chicago and another asks for a Latino listserv for students, administrators and faculty members who support a Latino studies program.
