Weeks into budget negotiations, A.S. President Harry Khanna has received the most protest from college councils, which took offense to Khanna’s plan to downsize the funding for college-specific events.
During budget negotiations, councilmembers proposed or made a few reallocations, and Khanna said that overall he felt optimistic about the talks.
“This budget has been very well received,” he said.
However, Khanna’s transfer of money from individual college councils to campuswide organizations has created friction.
But by giving more money directly to the student organizations, Khanna said he hopes to bypass what he called a lengthy and inconsistent process that filters money to student organizations through the college councils.
Vice President Finance Conrad Ohashi has expressed strong support for Khanna’s budget, especially in his restructuring of how the six college councils are funded.
Other senators also supported the plan, though some said a full-scale move away from funding college councils would be unwise.
“We need to wean ourselves off this system of funding,” Earl Warren College Junior Senator Daniel Palay stated in an e-mail to the council.
Palay added that he hopes that the council passes the budget in a version close to the plan’s current state.
“As it stands, the budget is a very strong step by A.S. to expand its role on this campus and follow the recommendations of the USES report,” Palay stated in an e-mail. “I hope that it passes in a form very close to its current one, given all of the work and commentary from students and organizations throughout the campus.”
In addition, some senators have expressed reservations, especially concerning college-specific events such as Thurgood Marshall College’s annual Cultural Celebration.
Critics have questioned the event’s signifiance for current students, because the event is hosted on Admit Day.
This year, Khanna proposed a budget cut of $3,000 from the event, which he labeled as “Marshall College Celebration.” The council budgeted $7,000 to the program last year.
Former Marshall councilmembers protested the proposal, with former Marshall Junior Senator Jason M. Hoskins saying that he was “very dissapointed” in Khanna’s budget.
“I certainly hope no other event is being funded more than $4,000,” he stated in an e-mail to the A.S. Council.
Another significant change in the budget was the creation of stipends for workers in A.S. Council departments such as enterprise operations. Khanna also reinstituted stipends for student workers in student services such as SRTV removed by former A.S. President Christopher Sweeten last year.
Former A.S. presidential candidate and Earl Warren College ssenior Daniel Watts promised to cut stipends in his two unsuccessful campaigns for the the post.
Watts’ sentiment was mirrored by other councilmembers who said financial gain should not be a factor in a council position.
“There are a lot of organizations on this campus that work extremely hard and don’t get monetary compensation,” Marshall College Freshman Senator Lana Blank said. “I understand why stipends exist, but I would rather see that money to somewhere else.”
However, Khanna argued that everybody who has spent a serious amount of time in student government comes to realize the importance of stipends, and maintained that they promote a professional work ethic and a high level of commitment.
