USG finalized a statement of position in support of UConn's proposed tuition increase amidst heated debate about a recent student survey and funding issues at the March 4 meeting.
The statement of position, which will be submitted to the Board of Trustees on March 10, was the main issue the student government contended with during the nearly five-hour-long meeting.
Initially, USG President Meredith Zaritheny presented a statement of position to the Senate that said UConn's student body supported tuition increase option C, which includes an 8.67 percent tuition increase and about 80 to 100 layoffs of faculty and staff.
The statement was largely based on the results of an online student survey that many USG members now consider to be faulty because of the number of responses received, according to Speaker of the Senate Corey Schmitt.
USG received about 18,800 responses to their survey. According to the College Board, there are only 16,500 undergraduates on the Storrs campus.
Schmitt said this is problematic because "USG can only technically represent undergraduate students at the Storrs campus."
The survey, which was supposed to be sent only to the 16,500 students USG represents, was instead sent out to the student-announce listserv. Listserv e-mails reach 51,000 recipients, including faculty, graduate students and students at satellite campuses.
USG comptroller Jason Ortiz was disappointed the results of the survey were used as the basis of a statement that was supposed to represent the opinions of the undergraduate UConn population.
"I feel the student body was grossly misrepresented [Wednesday] night," he said.
Schmitt said the general consensus was that the survey was unreliable and, after nearly an hour of intense debate, Zaritheny withdrew her original statement. Zaritheny could not be reached for comment on the issue.
Eventually, the wording on the original proposal was changed so that it no longer advocated option C as the opinion of the student body. Instead, the revised statement of position says, "the undergraduate student government supports a proposed increase of tuition of 8.67 percent." This proposal was passed with a majority vote.
Funding was among the other contested issues at Wednesday's meeting.
Greek Week, First Aid training by the Outing Club and the Students for Sensible Drug Policy's upcoming decriminalization conference were all denied funding to have catered food at their events.
"Generally, catering is not covered by the funding board…because it is seen as a personal cost," Schmitt said. The senate voted to uphold the funding board's decision.
Ortiz said he finds the cutting of the catering "outlandish," pointing out that the Greek Week event that was denied funds is supposed to be a barbecue. He plans to encourage the organizations to appeal the senate's decision.
Near the end of the meeting, USG Student Affairs Chairman Tom Haggerty introduced a piece of legislation that addresses recent concerns regarding the student government's funding practices.
The legislation, called "An Act Concerning the Creation of a Task Force on Financial Responsibility," will establish a task force to reevaluate issues of fiscal responsibility within USG. It will also give all Tier II organizations an opportunity to voice their opinions on the funding system.
The task force will function under the auspices of a chairperson, who will be appointed by Schmitt later this month and will not be a person involved in the USG funding process.
With the task force, Schmitt hopes to remove any public concerns regarding the financial practices of their organization.
"We're trying to raise accountability and take responsibility for our actions," Schmitt said.
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