The ASUO Student Senate decided at its Wednesday meeting to reduce next year’s proposed incidental fee by $4 and use overrealized funds to cover the deficit. The meeting also included a debate on a proposition to ban tobacco sales at Erb Essentials.
Most senators appeared to support the use of overrealized funds to decrease next year’s $184.75 fee, which is a $12 increase from this year, but they quarreled over whether to use the entire $300,000 in overrealized funds.
Sen. Colin Andries said he felt the Senate should be prudent in its decision.
“It doesn’t seem realistic or very smart to blow the entire overrealized fund,” he said.
Sen. Kevin Day noted that the highly valued EMU Amphitheater was built with overrealized funds.
Senate Ombudsman Mike Sherman, however, responded that this argument was not viable for maintaining the overrealized fund.
“I don’t think we should not spend the money because there could be some other great project on the horizon,” he said. “Personally, I believe that we should return that money to students … and really send the message that the Senate is committed to lowering the costs on campus.”
Sen. Jesse Harding added that using the overrealized funds to reduce the incidental fee might improve the Senate’s spending habits.
“Maybe we’ll be a little more … particular with what to spend that money on,” he said.
Sen. Adrian Gilmore suggested a compromise and moved to use $150,000 to reduce the fee.
Sen. Joe Jenkins argued the amount the Senate could reduce the incidental fee wouldn’t be substantial enough — only $2 to $4 — to justify spending the overrealized fund on it, especially considering how much students pay in tuition each year.
“The only way it’s going to be symbolic is when the Emerald reports that we lowered the incidental fee,” he said.
However, Andries argued that the money he could save “could buy me a beer at Rennie’s.”
Harding echoed this comment, saying, “over the course of the year, it’s not just a beer, it’s a case of beers, or maybe a quarter of a textbook.”
Gilmore’s motion was later amended to use $200,000 to reduce the incidental fee and was passed, 14-1-1.
The Senate also listened to a proposal from the University Health Center to ban tobacco sales at Erb Essentials, the only venue on campus that still sells tobacco products. While the Senate could not vote on the issue during the meeting, an intense debate ensued around the validity of such a policy.
Peer Health Educator and junior political science major Adrianne Gee argued that such a move would have a great impact on campus, adding that a smoker’s habit not only affects them, but everyone around them.
“Environmental smoke is a problem on campus … It’s not just something that affects smokers, it affects us all,” she said.
Former Peer Health Educator and junior political science major Rebekah Lebwohl argued that the economic benefits of tobacco sales do not outweigh the damage tobacco causes, citing examples such as a fire caused by a careless smoker at Theta Chi’s fraternity house last summer and premature deaths from tobacco use.
“Revenue from tobacco sales does not outweigh the cost of tobacco smoke,” she said. “We do not want our campus to support an industry that’s killing people.” The Senate also voted unanimously to release $346 to the Muslim Student Association’s food holding account for its “Islam in America” series next week. PERMIAS, an Indonesian student group, submitted a request to transfer $500 from its food holding account back into its fundraising account. The ASUO Executive received money for the Association of Anthropology Graduate Students to pay for lodging for Dr. Bea Medicine, a speaker the group is bringing to campus.