In what should have been their last meeting of the term, Student senators heatedly debated funding for the Student Recreation Center and the Programs Finance Committee. Insults flew and emotions ran so high that members of the PFC broke into tears.
Wednesday’s meeting began on a somber note as Senators observed a moment of silence for Brian Reams, the University student who died following a hit-and-run accident last Sunday, but senators faced a long agenda that included discussion of the rec center bill, several special requests and the final budget of the Programs Finance Committee.
Although the Senate does not normally schedule meetings during dead week, the Senate’s failure to come to a vote on the rec center bill led Senate President Sara Hamilton to schedule a meeting for next Wednesday at 7 p.m. to discuss the initiative and said attendance will be mandatory.
Programs Finance Committee Budget
Three hours after the meeting began, the evening reached an emotional climax as the group that allocates more than $5 million in student fees presented its final budget for the 2007-08 school year.
Both organizations argued back and forth, passing blame and hurling expletives as the Programs Finance Committee revealed a budget that had grown only moderately, but at the detriment of student groups’ bottom lines.
Senators first voted against the budget, citing a cut in services to students. Although the motion would later pass, tempers flared and many senators expressed dismay with the PFC’s actions.
“I voted no because I want more money to go to programs,” Sen. Gulley said. “This is a fucking joke. I’m sorry. I think that what’s going on here is more offensive than a swear word.”
PFC members implied that senators were to blame.
“It seems like senators are acting on their emotions, rather than on the logic of what the PFC has done,” PFC member Bassel Menzalji said.
The approved $5,610,258. budget goes to student programs, contracted services (such as the Lane Transit District and departments. This is a total increase of $151,270 and a 2.77 percent increase over the current budget.
PFC member Matt Rose said the vast majority of the increase went to contracts and departments. While contracted services received a 6.09 percent increase and departments received a 3.06 percent increase, student programs received only .24 percent or $4,087. Of the 108 student programs the PFC oversees, 58 received increases (some as small as $1), 25 received decreases, 7 received no increases, and 11 were defunded entirely.
PFC members were apologetic, but said they had worked tirelessly within the confines of the Senate’s requirements.
“We actually argued for an hour and a half over $5,” Menzalji said, admitting that the 2.5 percent limit on budget increases required the PFC to analyze budgets more closely than before. Rose said several factors hampered the budgeting process, including the 2.5 percent budget increase cap that the Senate imposed in November and mandatory wage increases for contracted services and departments.
The budgets for contracts and departments are not as transparent as the line item budgets for programs, Rose said, and there is less oversight for those organizations too.
“This is a really depressing part of this process,” Rose said. “We were really kind of disheartened when we looked at these numbers in the end.”
Sen. Micah Kosasa, who is the vice chairman of the PFC, said the budget is a numerical reflection of the state of campus life and that he felt the PFC was fair in its allocations.
“I see a single strong statement coming out of this, and that’s that the ASUO does not value campus life at the University of Oregon,” Kosasa said. “The Senate made a mistake with the benchmark.”
Kosasa said it is upsetting to know that next year students will be paying higher incidental fees but will be receiving fewer services for programs. He then urged the Senate to reject the PFC budget and passed around a list of groups he said deserved higher allocations.
Sen. Justice said she still supported the original cap on budget increases.
“I don’t really like the fact that we are seeing departments and contracts receiving these huge increases while programs are taking the hit, but at the same time I recognize that’s where the mandatory increases are,” Justice said.
Sen. Lleras said that Senators should have been fully informed about the ramifications of the 2.5 percent benchmark before it was passed.
“It was a huge upset for a lot of people on this campus who count on programming as their tool for accessibility,” she said.
Lleras said there should have been a discussion of the Senate’s investment in education and accessibility and called the hit to programs “unacceptable.”
Sen. Jacob Daniels said he has a problem with the finger being pointed at Senate or at the large contract and department budgets. He asked why the PFC didn’t “show some teeth” with those budgets.
Rose told the senators that they should stand by their decision and if they really feel programs should have more money, they should have said so back in November. Senators were told several times that a small benchmark would hurt programs the most, he said, and yet they first voted for a zero percent, then 1 percent, then 2.5 percent benchmark.
“I find it disheartening to hear you say we should give more money to programs when you voted for a zero percent increase for the entire PFC budget,” he said to Daniels.
ASUO Finance Coordinator Madeline Wigen said she was frustrated that during the meetings on the benchmark, few of the comments were directed at how the cap would hurt programs.
“It’s really frustrating, you guys, because it doesn’t seem like you were really worried about programs getting hit,” she said. “It seems like you wanted it.”
Sen. Oscar Guerra, who is also the PFC chairman, expressed anger with senators who were concerned with programs directing his comments at Hamilton and Daniels.
“Both of you are hypocrites,” he said. “When there was discussion about the 2.5 benchmark, it was surrounded on the misspending or spending of programs specifically.”
Sen. Kinsey told Guerra it was inappropriate to make personal attacks. She said she didn’t even listen to the rest of Guerra’s statement because she was so upset with how rude he had been.
Hamilton said she didn’t take it personally but reminded the Senate that as president, she abstained from the vote on the benchmark.
Sen. Ashley Sherrick said she was ashamed of the behavior throughout the meeting.
“It’s rude, inconsiderate and childish, and the playground is outside,” she said.
Black Student Union Co-Director Abrina Wheatfall told the Senate it was clear that it is campaign season because the Senate is suddenly fighting for programs. She said that the Senate didn’t care about programs when it voted for the benchmark in November.
“Don’t think we are going to forget,” she said. “Do not think we are going to sit back as we have in years past and not know what’s going on.”
Sen. Chii-San SunOwen, also a PFC member, motioned to approve the budget, but the vote failed 4-9-4. Sens. Lleras, Daniels, Gulley, Papailiou, Bryanna Mannis, Erica Anderson, Jonathan Rosenberg, Karen Trippe and Karl Mourfy voted against the budget. The three PFC members and Hamilton abstained.
After the measure failed, PFC members SunOwen and Wannita Nualngam broke into tears.
SunOwen told the Senate that the PFC would have to recall every single budget and do a term’s worth of work in one week.
“That puts the PFC in the worst position ever,” she said.
Daniels said he did not take offense to the name calling because “it’s politics.”
“It’s not going to affect me,” he said. “I’m going to be 2,000 miles away from here next year.”
Several PFC members insisted that if the Senate was going to vote down the budget, it should give the PFC direction on where to spend the
money.
Sen. Mourfy said he was saddened by the fact that the PFC members were hurt by the vote.
“We have seen the sad part of politics tonight,” Mourfy said.
After several motions to call the vote to question failed, senators who voted no were asked to explain whether they voted against the measure to give more money to programs or because the budget was too large. Only one responded.
Sen. Daniels eventually said he would change his vote because it would not be possible for the PFC to recall every single budget and do a term’s worth of work in one week. This time the vote passed 9-4-4. Sens. Lleras, Anderson, Gulley and Papailiou voted against the budget while SunOwen, Kosasa and Hamilton abstained. Guerra, who abstained on the first vote, voted in favor of the budget.
Student program budget breakdown
Out of 108 student programs overseen by the PFC:
58 received increases
25 received decreases
7 received no increase
11 were defunded entirely