Joint resolution committee announces budget
Student fees will increase by $5 per term for 2009-2010 academic year
Erin Huggins
Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: News
"Honestly, the people who choose to get involved end up being the group who decides and influences many major decisions, such as how student incidental fee money is allocated," she said. "Any student has the power to voice their concerns and needs, which I don't think most students realize. I just think your voice is heard a little louder if you are actively involved and know what's happening around campus."
Everett said that the JRC looked at the most responsible way to handle the funds and to best represent students. He said department heads may have been surprised at the final decision because for some of them, their job is to work out the proposed budgets to get more money for their individual programs.
Graduate student Laughlin said, "It's a problem, too, when certain people [area heads] tell you that the budgets are larger than they need. I think it's a problem with the entire process. [The heads] are encouraged to spend everything so they can request more; they are encouraged to inflate their budgets so they can get what they need."
Williams said about the final JRC decision, "Almost every [proposed] budget was cut somehow. I feel students cannot expect to see current service levels maintained next year. Unfortunately, areas that impact academic programs and retention such as Creative Arts, the student media, and ASWOU will be negatively affected. These areas received a large amount of turn-out on their behalf during the open hearings. I feel students' wishes were not met or even considered during JRC's decision making process. They have not represented the students impartially."
Caulkin, the only JRC member to vote against the budget, said IFC's original decision was a good balance that funded the departments with what they needed. "When [the decision] moved to JRC, my feeling was that those levels that they were moved to were not acceptable for maintaining the service level."
Several department heads, including Jon Tucker of WUC, Shelby Case of Student Media, Jon Carey of Athletics, Malissa Larson of Access, Keller Coker of Creative Arts and Max Beach of ASWOU, signed a petition to President Minahan, urging him to reject the JRC budget, claiming it overstepped boundaries of Joint Resolution and developed a new budget outside of Senate and IFC.
In response, President Minahan sent a letter to Beach, requesting him to "convene the IFC Steering Committee to develop rules governing the JRC deliberation so that students will be confident that the JRC deliberations are repeatable and regular from year to year."
Looking back provides 20-20 vision, Caulkin said. "At the time, people were doing what they thought was best to service their constituency, which is the student body. There was confusion and misconception of what JRC was supposed to do."
"In these difficult times, it is essential that this process work openly and predictably according to rules which are consistent from year to year," Minahan said.
Everett said that the JRC looked at the most responsible way to handle the funds and to best represent students. He said department heads may have been surprised at the final decision because for some of them, their job is to work out the proposed budgets to get more money for their individual programs.
Graduate student Laughlin said, "It's a problem, too, when certain people [area heads] tell you that the budgets are larger than they need. I think it's a problem with the entire process. [The heads] are encouraged to spend everything so they can request more; they are encouraged to inflate their budgets so they can get what they need."
Williams said about the final JRC decision, "Almost every [proposed] budget was cut somehow. I feel students cannot expect to see current service levels maintained next year. Unfortunately, areas that impact academic programs and retention such as Creative Arts, the student media, and ASWOU will be negatively affected. These areas received a large amount of turn-out on their behalf during the open hearings. I feel students' wishes were not met or even considered during JRC's decision making process. They have not represented the students impartially."
Caulkin, the only JRC member to vote against the budget, said IFC's original decision was a good balance that funded the departments with what they needed. "When [the decision] moved to JRC, my feeling was that those levels that they were moved to were not acceptable for maintaining the service level."
Several department heads, including Jon Tucker of WUC, Shelby Case of Student Media, Jon Carey of Athletics, Malissa Larson of Access, Keller Coker of Creative Arts and Max Beach of ASWOU, signed a petition to President Minahan, urging him to reject the JRC budget, claiming it overstepped boundaries of Joint Resolution and developed a new budget outside of Senate and IFC.
In response, President Minahan sent a letter to Beach, requesting him to "convene the IFC Steering Committee to develop rules governing the JRC deliberation so that students will be confident that the JRC deliberations are repeatable and regular from year to year."
Looking back provides 20-20 vision, Caulkin said. "At the time, people were doing what they thought was best to service their constituency, which is the student body. There was confusion and misconception of what JRC was supposed to do."
"In these difficult times, it is essential that this process work openly and predictably according to rules which are consistent from year to year," Minahan said.
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