Senate: serve constituents before serving self
The preamble to the Chadron State College Student Association Constitution charges representatives to “…judiciously manage such fiscal responsibilities as entrusted…”
But the $4,700 dollars allocated last week by Student Senate does not fit the bill.
According to Jacob Rissler, Senate President, there is a $300 limit for clubs seeking to use Student Activity Fees toward travel and conference expenses. To be fair, clubs can still go before the Campus Activity Board and petition for more funding. Senate, on the other hand has illustrated that they are above and beyond the purview of sensible expenditures.
If your club wants to take a trip or attend a conference, you have two options: fund-raise, or beg CAB for money. If Senators want to take a trip, they help themselves to un-allocated funds, instead of fund-raising like the clubs must.
But they are incorrect in doing so. The money Senate allocated was not pulled from the “Senate Activity Fees”; it was allocated from Student Activity Fees.
Senate using student money to fund it’s own lavish expeditions is intolerable, and we feel that they should not be entitled to use student dollars for their gain.
Frankly, every single student on this campus should be furious and shouting at their representatives. The Student Activity Fee is money that we pay with our tuition and fees to the college. The Senate is supposed to be an elected trustee of that money.
When Nebraska State College System Chancellor Stan Carpenter delivered his State of the System Address two weeks ago, he said “We are stewards of the public trust, and stewards of the public treasure.” Student government has yet to effectively demonstrate this ethos.
Every Senator swore an oath to the Student Association Constitution. Their duties entail spending that public treasury in a manner that benefits the student body before it benefits the Senate. In case Senate has forgotten, their duty is to serve the students, not the other way around.
The United States military has had a long-standing tradition: the troops eat before the officers. Unfortunately, rather than emulate real leadership, the Senate has followed the U.S. Congress’s example: get fat on your constituent’s dime.