The Allocations Board’s funding proposal lacks student input and puts too much power in a Board with unreasonably selective recruitment methods and potential conflicts of interest, according to students who discussed the plan with the AB and Student Union on Friday at the Howard Thurman Center.
Under the proposal presented last week, the AB would have almost full control of funding distribution to student groups, including the Union and Programming Council. Following the proposal’s release, many groups criticized it for being drafted too quickly and lacking their constructive input.
A handful of students — some from college governments and some from Residence Hall Associations — split up into four groups Friday afternoon to discuss the proposal’s benefits and drawbacks with the Union and AB — the former elected by the student body and the latter which recruits and chooses its own members.
Students raised several issues in each group, including the lack of a checks and balances system in the AB, conflicts of interest among AB members when deciding funding and a need for more dialogue about the proposal before voting on it.
Following a discussion with the Union prior to the meeting, the AB decided to allow the Union treasurer to vote on the Board, said Union President Brooke Feldman. Union Secretary Erica Homan, a CAS senior, is assuming treasurer responsibilities until the position is filled, according to a press release last week announcing the resignation of former Treasurer Caroline Cahill, a College of Communication senior.
“That’s huge,” Feldman, a CAS and School of Education junior, said. “We have never had [a voting member on AB] before.”
Union members said they wanted a larger number of democratically elected members on the AB. South Campus RHA Vice President Jesse Kramer, a Union member, proposed the General Assembly approve a certain number of candidates before they possibly join the AB.
AB ombudsman Tyler Ramaker said the Board will not consider having more than one democratically elected member on the AB.
“Adding a Student Union [voting member] is the farthest we will go,” the CAS junior said.
South Campus RHA Treasurer Ariel Gold, a University Professors Program junior, responded, “There, you’re going to have a fundamental problem.”
AB is hesitant about using a democratic process for electing its members because it could bring bias into decision-making, said AB Vice President Soren Hessler, who is the president of the UNI student government.
“A democratically elected person poses a problem because everyone comes in with an agenda,” the UNI junior said. “That kind of process I don’t think would be helpful.”
The majority of GA members and the student body are not aware of AB’s inner-workings and cannot adequately elect a Board member, Hessler said.
“When the average Student Union person doesn’t even know what we do, I don’t think it’s fair for them to decide who we allow on the board,” he said.
Kramer asked Hessler how his position as UNI government president affects his funding decisions.
“I know on the Student Union you cannot be in more than one group because it is a conflict of interest,” Kramer, a CAS junior, said.
The Board has a self-policing system, Hessler and AB Secretary Christine Bertoglio said. A student government’s spending history would affect its reputation with the Board.
“It’s covered in our bylaws . . . [it] excludes people from voting on certain issues,” Bertoglio said. “If they do, we’ll take appropriate action.”
AB member Alex Krause said university offices — primarily the Student Activities Office and the Office of the Dean of Students — provide oversight on AB decisions.
“Our belief is that if there is gross negligence, it would certainly be caught by the other levels of the university, just as it would be now,” the College of Arts and Sciences sophomore said.
Hessler, along with Bertoglio, questioned the Union’s position in judging the AB’s decision-making procedure.
“Who’s to say the Student Union are the right people to check us?” Hessler said.
Union member Tricia Choi, a CAS senior, replied, “I think it’s one of the best ways.”
However, Hessler referenced past GA decisions regarding vacancies within the Union Executive Board, saying, “I seem to remember qualified people nominated by the Student Union [E-Board] rejected by the General Assembly in the past.”
Many students also expressed concern with AB’s low profile.
Students would be more trusting of the AB if the group were more open with their practices, said Union member John Grant. He suggested the AB publish its meeting minutes online.
“I want to know who gets my money,” the CAS sophomore said. “The average student would trust everything a lot more if it’s right in front of them.”
While any BU student can attend an AB meeting, the Board votes privately, Hessler said. Krause said this practice allows AB members to vote honestly.
“We think that in some ways, it makes it less political,” Krause said. “Because then, when I talk about it, I don’t have to worry about what other people think.”
Students questioned potential conflicts of interest among AB members when voting on how to distribute money. Allocation would go unchecked if the AB maintains its low profile and does not have a student check, Kramer said.
The proposal’s purpose was “a framework to have conversation about,” Hessler said.
The current AB proposal needs to be more concrete before the vote, said Inner Strength Gospel Choir Treasurer Shameka Gregory.
“I think it needs to be more laid out,” the CAS junior said. “The fact that there is still no exact number for the base budgets for the RHAs and the college consortiums . . . there should be no talks of voting until things like that are set in stone.”
Feldman said the event was held because the proposal needed more student input.
“When I was first proposed with this document, I had some reservations in a personal level, and from my vantage point, as president of the Union,” she said after the event.
“It’s something that needs a lot of work in my mind, and it needs as much possible input from every student that is curious about how their money is being spent,” she continued. “They need to be involved in the dialogue.”
Staff reporter Marcos Lopez contributed reporting to this article.