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Hag* ?
The Hrd aiut IHack. WeriucMlax. M.tuh 7 1979
Senate hopes not dulled by discouragement
Loss of student activity allocations hurt Senate the most
MditorS note This is the* first story in a
t>xopart scries examining the new student
senatr. Today's story reviews the recent
history of the senate and its loss of allocations
power to the administration.
By MIKE ROBERTS
Staff writer
University students' confidence in the
Student Government Association seems to have
sunk to an all-time low An SGA presidential
candidate was elected last month after cam
paigning to abolish student government
In the same election, referendumi calling for
the elimination of ‘‘GA salaries were passed by
nearly four to-one margins
News
c4nalysis
The SGA's legislative branch, the senate, is
part of the reason student government is held
in such low esteem on campus Senators spend
a large part of their meetings arguing over
parliamentary procedure and pass few motions
affecting the student body
The outgoing senate president. Billy Key. has
said the body has lost its mam purpose, and
a random sample of outgoing senators has
shown that a majority serving in the senate
found the experience "discouraging "
The senate has problems The roots of those
problems lie in several areas, one of which is
the allocation of student activity fees
Until winter of 1977. the senate was the first
link in the chain of getting allocations requests
out of the paper and ink stage and into legal
tender Tom Cochran. SGA advisor and
accountant with the Office of Students Affairs,
explained the process
A senate standing committee, the allocations
committee, was charged with accepting all
requests for student activity fees The
committee reviewed each request and made a
recommendation to the full senate as to
whether the request should bo approved
If the senate voted down the request, the
allocations committee again reviewed it. taking
into account senate criticisms When the senate
approved the request, it was sent to the dean of
student affairs
The dean read the senate's RECOMMENDA-
TION a word that would spark turmoil and
either endorsed it or referred it to his
allocations review committee The review
committee would smooth wrinkles out of the
recommendation and return it to the dean
Evidently not many wrinkles were found in
most senate recommendations The dean
approved about 90 percent of them, said Billy
Key. past president of the senate
"The only time he disagreed with us was
when he knew more than we did. Key said
Once the dean was satisfied with the
recommendation, he sent it to University Presi
dent Fred Davison, who had the final say.
But in the mid-1970s, that allocations chain
developed cracks which led to the breaking of
the senate link "It was a progression of
things." SGA advisor Cochran said "There
was a lot of controversy over allocations." he
addod
Cochran said the controversy was based on
three main factors: SGA opinion that the dean
had no right to review senate allocations
recommendations, senate cuts in student
salaries and funding to major University
groups and questions over student body
representation in the senate
Some SGA spokesmen objected to the dean's
veto power over senate recommendations.
Some factions in the senate believed the body
had the right to actually allocate activity fees
The administration believed otherwise
Dwight Douglas, current student affairs
dean, said the senate never had the power to
allocate, only to recommend
Then, the senate sent to the dean a
recommendation for cutting student salaries in
groups funded through activity fees as well as
chopping funding to the University Union and
The Red and Black. Cochran said He added
those recommendations drew flak from several
campus groups
The problem with this fund juggling was one
of continuity. Cochran said targe University
organizations needed to be able to depend on
getting about the same amount of activity fees
each year
The question of whether the senate was truly
representative of the student body also came
into play Cochran said at any time only
two-thirds of the senate seats would be filled.
And of those senators elected each year,
some would drop out of the senate Their places
would he filled by persons chosen bv a caucus
of senators from the dropout's college or school.
Thus, those replacements were not picked by
popular vote.
Further weakening senate claims of
representation was low voter turnout during
elections. Cochran said
Finally, in early 1977. Dean Douglas moved
to revamp the allocations process and reduce
the senate s roll in it.
The University’s official line was. "We've
come up with a better idea." Cochran said.
Under the "better idea," schools and colleges
automatically got a piece of the activity-fee pie
to further break down among their internal
clubs and organizations. Large groups such as
the union would have their allocations requests
reviewed by a committee chosen by Douglas
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The senate was offered the power to
recommend allocations for non academically
related clubs. Cochran said
On Feb. 22. 1977. senate Treasurer Tucker
Hobgood reported the allocations revamping to
the tull senate As recorded ir. the minutes of
that meeting. Hobgood said Douglas asked if
student government wanted to participate in
funding of non-academic clubs
‘Allocations and student
money was the only real
thing the senate had to do'
former VP Debbie Barnes
That question was to elicit strong rhetoric
from SGA before the senate said no.
In a letter dated April 5. 1977. SGA President
Rob Hancock wrote University President
Davison about the revamping
Dean of Student Affairs Dwight Douglas
has threatened to terminate this relationship
<of the senate with allocations) by replacing
elected students with appointed students, who
are responsible to him...
His actions in removing the elected student
representatives from the allocations process is
totally unwarranted..
On April i*. the question of non-academic
clubs was addressed during the day’s senate
meeting One senator urged his fellows "not to
tn* fooled by compromises "
On April It. SGA presidential candidate
Hobgood wrote in an editorial column. "They
iother candidates) wish to gobble up the
responsibility tof non academic clubs' to the
detriment of the responsibility and indepen
dence of SGA "
In the eyes ol its members, the senate was
fighting for its life It lost Non-academic clubs
were placed on the allocations committee with
large groups and the senate came up empty
handed
The administration again offered, in 1978. to
give non-academic clubs to the senate. The
senate again refused
Debbie Barnes, senate vice-president from
1977 1978. said the loss of allocations left the
senate purposeless "Allocations and student
money was the only real thing the senate had
to do." she said.
Former senate President Key echoed the
same opinion, "When we stopped allocating
funds we lost our main purpose But it didn't
hurt morale (in the senate) 1 don’t think."
Poll of senators calls
SGA discouraging
Serving in the Student Senate was a discouraging
experience, according to seven outgoing senators recently
[Killed by The Red and Black in a random sample
The poll was conducted the day following the last
meeting of the 1978 1979 senate. Of 49 senators listed on
roll. 16—every third name- were selected to be part of
the telephone sample
Of the 16. eight could not be reached
Those senators who were contacted were asked
questions about their past service in student government,
class standing, number of years at the University,
number of terms in the senate whether they were
encouraged or discouraged by their senate service and
whether student government should be abolished
Four former senators said they had been involved in
high school student government, and all of them found it
to be a rewarding experience.
Four seniors, two juniors and two sophomores were
among the polled senators Only two had served more
than one term in the senate
Seven said they were discouraged by senate service,
while one said he had no opinion Two of those polled said
student government should be abolished, four said it
should not and two had no opinion.
New officers have plans to polish Senate image
Pour your heart out
in a letter to the editor in
The IVed and Tllacl^ v
By TIM BONNER
Staff writer
If the new senate officers
have their way, apathetic
attitudes displayed by past
senators and students will
become something for the
history hooks, according to the
senate's new president.
Lynn Johnson, elected senate
president last Wednesday,
hopes to better the senate's
image with the student body
"I know everyone has been
saying that they plan to better
the senate's image, but I'm
going to do it by showing the
students that there are some
interested senators, some
working senators." Johnson
said.
"People are on edge right
now. what with Mulherin’s
referendums to abolish SGA
I'm not going to forget that,
hut I plan to show the students
that we can do something. It's
urgent that we do so."
Johnson feels part of this can
be accomplished by making
SGA actions more visible to
the students In lieu of this.
Johnson plans on investigating
various possibilities, including
the return of student activities
Staff photo Hal Brook*
Senate President Lynn Johnson
allocations to SGA. the estab
lishment of a student credit
union and a closer involvement
with the book exchange.
As president. Johnson feels
her close involvement with all
facets of the senate will aid her
in influencing and implement
ing her ideas. As she said. "I
plan on being impartial as far
as judgments go. but I cannot
he impartial as far as my
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Senate vice-president Barry
Irwin plans on attacking the
internal problems of the senate
by restructuring the senate
committees. His plan calls for
four standing committee*—fi
nance. judiciary, student ser
vices and academic affairs
with ad hoc committees
appointed as necessary.
Irwin is the only new officer
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Starring many of the
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planning to keep his salary
despite the overwhelming deci
sion to abolish SGA salaries in
the recent election As Irwin
said. "1 was elected on my own
abilities. I represent the
students that didn't vote."
Andrea (Andii Fleming, the
new recorder, ran for office
because she was "mad. mad at
the atmosphere and apathy
present at the first meeting "
Calling herself "pm S(, \
Fleming hopes to "wake up
students to what SGA really
is—a research and liaison
group between the students
and the administration."
Fleming hopes SGA will gain
more respect from the admin
istration She said letters have
already been drafted and sent
to various organizations and
deans saying, us Fleming put
it. "tat us do something to
help "
Fleming thinks SGA needs
more student input, as she is
currently working on a way to
hear more from students. The
new officers now have regular
office hours, making them
available to students.
But the most pressing need
lies in dealing with the senate
itself. Fleming said
”1 hope my enthusiastic
motivation can he carried out
to other senators, or the things
they've been saying about past
and future senates will only
help the senate kill itself."
Fleming said.
Treasurer Mike Hearn also
feels that bringing the senate
together is a major concern.
"I was disgusted with the
meeting last Wednesday. It
was very disorganized. We
need to gel the petty politics
out of the way and get started
now if we are going to get
anything done," Hearn said.
"The senate needs to find a
way to mix the sense and fore
thought of the ‘conservative
faction’ with the initiative and
drive of the liberals (like
Mulherin) in order to succeed
as a representative body."
Hearn said.
Hearn feels »hat the student
credit union, another married
housing bus. longer library
hours, improved intramural
facilities and longer hours for
Stegeman are needed improve
ments
"At least I’ll have a little
more input, if not influence, in
achieving these goals." Hearn
said
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As winter quarter classes come to a close
U.Ga. students have one pressing concern - ejawaj
spring break.
Tomorrow Cet\£erpiece looks at what to do,
where to go and what’s happening in Florida
and for those less fortunate...
what to do in Athens over the holiday.
DON’T MISS IT
iTl Red and ‘Black