SEC votes to hold referendum on Media Board salaries
Gillian Seaman
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: News
"Please note that this is not at all an attack on anyone here," said RHA representative Grace Bell at the beginning of last Monday's Student Executive Council (SEC) meeting. The SEC is composed of representatives from Media Board, Undergraduate Student Government, Undergraduate Programming Board, Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council, Class Officer Collective, and Residence Hall Association (the only nonvoting member on SEC), and governs the allocation of student activity fee revenue to its member organizations.
The meeting, one of the most contentious of the year, focused on the development of a referendum on whether or not certain Media Board organizations' salaries should be paid with the student activities fee (SAF).
If ratified, the referendum would prohibit the ability of organizations to pay students from student activities fee money for holding positions. Instead, the organization would have to generate its own revenue, should it want to pay students in executive positions. Bell repeatedly emphasized that no money would be reallocated. Rather, SEC would allow members paying salaries the opportunity to explore new initiatives with the funds before being reviewed next semester by the council. No changes would go into effect until Fall 2010. "We decided last year it would be unfair to pull students salaries mid-year," said Bell.
The Media Board organizations that would be affected by the referendum are the Athenian, Case Reserve Review, Discussions, and Ignite T.V. While the Engineering Science Review, Film Society, Observer, Retrospect and WRUW are part of Media Board, the organizations are able to pay their salaries without the SAF because salary payment is generated through external revenues in the forms of advertising, fundraising, and alumni donations. Media Board is currently led by chairperson Michelle Udem, treasurer Beth Gilcher, and secretary Sean Yeldell.
Despite Bell's assurances that Media Board was not being attacked, not all were assuaged. In one letter to SEC justifying salary, the author wrote that, "I think the motive behind wanting to get rid of payments from the [Student Activities Fee] is that many other students are not paid for the work they do on campus…I'm just concerned that SEC wants to tamper with a policy without considering the consequences. Essentially, stepping into issues Media Board knows best about and potentially damaging Media Board groups in the process-and that they will offer it up on a student referendum on the ground that 'it's not fair' [we] get paid and [they] don't."
The meeting, one of the most contentious of the year, focused on the development of a referendum on whether or not certain Media Board organizations' salaries should be paid with the student activities fee (SAF).
If ratified, the referendum would prohibit the ability of organizations to pay students from student activities fee money for holding positions. Instead, the organization would have to generate its own revenue, should it want to pay students in executive positions. Bell repeatedly emphasized that no money would be reallocated. Rather, SEC would allow members paying salaries the opportunity to explore new initiatives with the funds before being reviewed next semester by the council. No changes would go into effect until Fall 2010. "We decided last year it would be unfair to pull students salaries mid-year," said Bell.
The Media Board organizations that would be affected by the referendum are the Athenian, Case Reserve Review, Discussions, and Ignite T.V. While the Engineering Science Review, Film Society, Observer, Retrospect and WRUW are part of Media Board, the organizations are able to pay their salaries without the SAF because salary payment is generated through external revenues in the forms of advertising, fundraising, and alumni donations. Media Board is currently led by chairperson Michelle Udem, treasurer Beth Gilcher, and secretary Sean Yeldell.
Despite Bell's assurances that Media Board was not being attacked, not all were assuaged. In one letter to SEC justifying salary, the author wrote that, "I think the motive behind wanting to get rid of payments from the [Student Activities Fee] is that many other students are not paid for the work they do on campus…I'm just concerned that SEC wants to tamper with a policy without considering the consequences. Essentially, stepping into issues Media Board knows best about and potentially damaging Media Board groups in the process-and that they will offer it up on a student referendum on the ground that 'it's not fair' [we] get paid and [they] don't."
Be the first to comment on this story