Admin. strips ‘broken body’ of democratic process
A week after branding the Student Senate Finance Committee’s actions “militant,” Aaron Prestwich, interim executive director of student affairs, dissolved the committee Monday evening after saying, “This is obviously a broken body.”
Prestwich read his decision to the Student Senate from a letter he signed, interrupting nearly 45 minutes of discussion about the activity fee budget. At that point, several senators and other members stood up and, visibly angry, walked out.
Prestwich said he dissolved the committee, claiming it exhibited:
• “A lack of parity and fairness regarding club allocations
• An inappropriate extension of control and influence over club expenditures
• An unnecessary sense of antagonism during budget hearings
• A general lack of concern regarding what is in the best interest of the student body.”
“Due to these concerns, effective immediately, the current Senate Finance Committee members are now relieved from their responsibilities and the committee is now dissolved,” Prestwich said. “Although as administrators we hesitate to take such actions, it has become apparent that we must step in and relieve the SFC of their [sic] involvement in the allocation process.”
At the heart of Senate’s Monday discussion was allocations for the Campus Activities Board, Residence Life Association, and the Office of Student Activities.
CAB requested $52,020; RLA requested $25,000; the Office of Student Activities requested $5,750. Those amounts totaled $82,770, more than half of the Student Senate’s $155,000 activity fee budget.
In its initial budget recommendation, the Senate Finance Committee approved only $20,000 for CAB and no funding for either RLA or the Office of Student Activities.
Its justification for not funding the $32,000 balance of CAB’s request because it could not adequately document its expenditures, nor did it meet the request guidelines published on the front page of all student organization’s funding-request packets.
The committee did not fund RLA because students within its organization did not have final decision-making power over how the money was spent. That power rests with Tami Fosher, manager of residence life programs, and resident directors, only one of which is a student.
The committee recommended the Office of Student Activities not be funded by activity fees because it did not qualify as a student organization under the SFC constitution.
Prestwich is the administrator over all three of those departments.
The Office of Student Activities is an administrative department. Although the RLA constitution states that every student who resides in a dorm is a member of the association, the committee decided that it functioned as a department.
Prestwich said he would form a new allocation committee, composed of 11 students–three from Student Senate; four from the CAB; members from the Residence Life Association; and two at-large members.
Although each body would recommend its own representatives, Prestwich said, “All student representatives on the committee must receive final approval by my office.”
Tuesday morning, Prestwich said he did not believe personally approving who sits on this student government organization violates students’ democratic process.
“Our intent is not to take decision making powers away from students or to–to in a long term–in a long term perspective, control the governance process,” Prestwich said Tuesday. “I think there are very few instances where as an administration, in order to ensure that the best interests of the students are met, in order to attempt to do what is right for students, we would have to step in and make some decisions and take some action.”
Tuesday evening after reading his letter a second time at CAB’s meeting, Prestwich sent an email to The Eagle’s Teri Robinson, softening his position about his office giving final approval of student representatives on the new committee.
“If they want that part (approval from my office) to be included in the process then it will be,” Prestwich’s email stated.
Prestwich also said Tuesday that Nebraska State College System board policy granted him the authority to dissolve the committee. Board policy 3300 states “All recognized student organizations shall have a charter agreement and/or constitution that is approved by the Student Senate and the Vice President responsible for student affairs.”
The portion of Policy No. 3300 Prestwich cited as his justification was one of numerous amendments to the policy, approved June 2012 by the NSCS Board of Trustees.
NSCS Legal Counsel Kristin Petersen did not respond to multiple phone calls Wednesday seeking clarification on whether administrators could retroactively deny and restructure a student organization constitution.
“The administration has the ability to approve or disapprove of constitutions,” CSC President Randy Rhine said Wednesday. “I think we had an administrator [Prestwich] move to that action because he felt it was in the best interest of students. Did he have the latitude to do that? Yes.”
Prestwich said Monday that “certain members of the finance committee have displayed a lack of regard towards the voice and opinion of the Senate President, other Senate members, CSC administration, and the general student body.”
Board Policy 3250 grants students the freedom to individually or collectively “express their views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of general interest to the student population.”
Some students said they believe that the administration is overstepping its bounds and are concerned about future administrative involvement in student government’s affairs.
“I feel as though many students will feel as though the administration is over-stepping boundaries as far as student government goes,” Reba Jackson, Student Senate chief justice, stated Tuesday. “I fear that if Senate does not provide input or an active response to Mr. Prestwich’s letter then a precedent will be set and more changes like this will occur.”
Marlee Waugh, senator of B.E.A.M.S.S., said she did not think the finance committee listened to students and thus agreed with the administrative oversight.
“We’re still a student-run organization,” Waugh said Tuesday.
Rhine said he did not think that Prestwich’s action was intended as censorship, but that he would investigate and review the issue.
“I will look into this matter and I will review it, and if we’ve impinged on students’ rights, we will take a different course here.”
At Monday’s meeting, Prestwich told the Senate that its president, James Bahensky, would present a new budget for the body to approve.
“I’m still shocked at what happened,” Bahensky said Wednesday. “It is good that we get criticized and I like that because it means that people actually care about what is going on and they have a say. You really don’t hear from students unless something is wrong. And there is definitely something wrong and we need to make sure it gets fixed.”
Bahensky said he anticipates the Senate’s budget approval at its Monday meeting. Wednesday evening, he sent an email to all senators which stated “Attached you will find the by-laws of the Finance Committee, its final recommendation, and organization budget packets submitted earlier this spring. These documents are for your review to prepare questions should they arise.”
The Senate Finance Committee by-laws he sent are the same by-laws followed by the members of the committee Prestwich dissolved.
“We need to [approve the budget] so people can be aware of what they are going to be looking at next year,” Bahensky said.
Jacob Rissler, senator of Andrews Hall, who more than once publicly opposed the Finance Committee’s budget recommendation, proposed his own budget Monday. He is the sole Student Senate presidential candidate in the election ending today and declined to comment on Prestwich’s move.
At Monday’s Student Senate meeting, Randi Hughes, senator-at-large, appearing impatient, asked if the Senate could vote on one of the budgets. Student Senate Vice President T.J. Thomson said, to his understanding of the constitution, if the Senate was not happy with the numbers, the Finance Committee would reevaluate and submit a new budget. Bahensky told Hughes she could move to suspend the rules.
Thomson replied “Then what’s the point of having a constitution?”
On those words, Prestwich stood up and took control of the meeting.