The Kansas State Student Governing Association continued privilege fee funding for Recreational Services and KSDB, increased privilege fee funding for the university’s sports clubs and created a privilege fee line item to fund SGA.
As part of the three-year review cycle of organizations that receive student privilege fee funds, the senate approved Rec Service’s budgets in the amounts of $1,390,614 for each of the following three fiscal years.
In recent years, Rec Services had budgetary surpluses, but the privilege fee committee had considered cuts in the fee that would “reduce the balance of the Recreational Services Student Fee account to a zero balance over the next three years in response” to the surpluses.
“I think Recreational Services deserves a continuance in their balance because it shows we are confident that they are spending their money wisely,” said Jonathan Peuchen, privilege fee committee chair and junior in mechanical engineering. “Those surpluses mean that they have not been spending every dollar that students have allocated to them, thus saving students money in the future by not wasting their money on frivolous items.”
The senate renewed privilege fee funding for KSDB on a one-year basis instead of a three-year basis so a student board can be created for the radio station. SGA requires organizations that receive privilege fee funding to be overseen by student boards, which KSDB currently lacks. KSDB will receive $102,362 in privilege fee funding next fiscal year.
Senators voted to increase funding for the university’s sports clubs in order to help reduce the costs incurred by participants. The clubs will receive $65,000 for fiscal year 2017-18, $67,000 for 2018-19 and $69,000 for 2019-20.
The senate voted to create a separate privilege fee item to fund SGA in order to create transparency as to the funds the senate receives, especially in regard to officer compensation.
The new privilege fee category replaces the current funding model, in which SGA is funded as a line item in the privilege fee allotment to the Office of Student Activities and Services.
The senate will receive $54,633 for for the 2017-18 fiscal year, $56,941 for 2018-19 and $60,365 for 2019-20 for officer compensation. The senate privilege fee also includes $16,800 for senate programs.
In fiscal year 2016, a total of $57,184 was used to fund 13 student leaders. In fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016, the student body president received scholarships and compensation equal to 100 percent of K-State’s in-state tuition rate, or $11,136 in 2016.
During the introduction of legislation, the senate nearly lost quorum, as several senators left early in the meeting, which lasted more than four hours. Only 32 senators were present at the quorum roll call, but 53 senators are listed on the SGA website.
In other action
The senate commended Stephen Stockham, professor emeritus of veterinary clinical pathology, for winning the 2016 Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Distinguished Teacher Award.
The senate swore in Stephen Caffera, sophomore in music, computer science and finance, as a senator for the College of Arts and Sciences.
The senate allocated $300 to Pinky Promise K-State for a trip to the 2017 Pinky Promise Women’s Heart to Heart Conference in Atlanta in July, $500 to the Structural Engineers Association of Kansas and Missouri for travel to the Structural Engineering Institute Structures Congress in Denver in April, $145 to the Paraguayan Student Organization to host a social in April and $360 to the Indian Students Association to host a festival in April.
The senate also allocated $942 to the International Coordinating Council for several events, $1,750 to the Rhetoric and Composition Society to host Stephanie Kerschbaum for a discussion on anti-racism and anti-ableism and $1,000 to the Asian American Student Union to attend the Midwest Asian American Student Union spring conference in April.
