I do not even know how to begin this letter to all of you. As a student on campus and as an executive director of a student organization on campus myself, I was completely outraged to read the article that appeared in the Emerald today and hear about what occurred concerning The Veterans and Family Student Association at last night’s budget hearing.
To hear about the budget that was demanded by the VFSA with no possibility of compromise was absolutely ridiculous. With more than 120 student organizations on campus associated with the ASUO, I found the actions of the VFSA selfish and inconsiderate of all other organizations on campus.
As just one of many people who are part of the ASUO organizations, I was also completely shocked at the blatant disregard for the consequences of the Executive’s actions, as it would affect the mood and the trust in the system that every other student organization has worked hard to abide by as an equal member on campus.
I am the executive director of the YWCA, and this year I was forced to retire my organization after a series of unfortunate circumstances that had occurred throughout this year. The YWCA has been an organization on this campus since the 1950s and has endured a serious toll of budget cuts that affected us dramatically over the past four years. This year, after being an organization on campus for more than 50 years, we will retire with a budget only a few dollars more than $3,000; a budget that the YWCA worked hard to maintain and earn back over the years. I made the executive decision at the end of last term that to demand a higher budget to make up for lost resources and a new office after our office was sold to the School of Education last summer would be selfish and irresponsible in terms of my place in a much larger pool made up of suffering organizations facing serious financial problems.
I understand completely that there are some organizations that will serve a larger student demographic than others, but to make one organization seem superior over everyone else and demand that the Executive make that decision above all other organizations bestows a mentality of inequality amongst organizations as well as amongst opinionated importance.
I was devastated to hear about what happened last night, and especially what the minority opinion (Sen. Steven Wilsey) feels needs to happen to get the job done. I feel bad knowing the ethics that was in the Senate was forced to walk out of the meeting last night because of the outcome of selfish demand and the system’s so-called “allocated power” and their impact over the Executive when it really counts.
In terms of the reputation and the ethics of the YWCA and the system it belongs to, all I have to say is it looks like I chose the right time to retire our organization.
Stephanie Carriere is a University student and the Executive Director of the University YWCA.