As a student senator, I recognize that all 105 clubs and organizations that rely on us for funding are all financially stressed. Over the past few years, our student government has continuously demanded that student organizations find more ways to do things with less funding and fewer resources. This year, every club had received funding cuts across the board. I remember on my first year on the senate we had funded club base budgets at $408,000 for the 2012-2013 academic year. However, this year we have only spent $355,000 on clubs based budgets. Our SGA has spent $55,000 less on clubs this year than we spent in the previous year.

                  I want to say that I completely understand the financial struggles that each and every club is going through. As a member of the finance committee, I have firsthand knowledge of the everyday struggles that clubs on our college campus face. As a President of a club myself, I know how frustrating it can get when dealing with all of the financial regulations, requirements, and conditions that our student government places on clubs.

No particular person is to blame. Nobody is at fault. I personally feel there is enough blame to go around – myself included. I am willing to admit that as a member of the finance committee I made mistakes. However, I want to make things better for everyone. I want to make sure that every club’s needs are met. That is why I am speaking out today.

I have been upset for some time at the blatant waste that has been occurring within our student government. When I was growing up, I learned that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated. Overall, I don’t feel that our student government has done such a good job of living up to that moral standard.

Over winter break, the student government held its annual retreat. One of my requirements as a senator is to attend the retreat. I could see the ocean from my hotel room. We stayed on an island in Rhode Island. However, I was told over and over again that our retreat would be relatively inexpensive. However, I learned a month after the retreat that the true cost of the retreat was over $13,000. This was paid for with your student activity fees.

A few weeks later, at the winter club fair – my clubs table was right next to the SGA table. At the SGA table they were handing out tee shirts, hats, scarves and other promotional items. My club had no promotional items to hand out. My club was denied funding for promotional items because ‘it was a luxury.’ I am not making this up – this is what we were told. Why it is considered a luxury for my club to have promotional items, but not the SGA?

Last year, over 20 organizations asked for funding for tee shirts in their base budget requests. Every club was denied. However, everybody elected to the senate received a free tee shirt (I refuse to wear my SGA shirt around campus because I feel it is wrong to tell every club that they can’t have clothing for their members even though SGA members received free tee shirts for our organization).

It is time for a change. Our SGA has given itself many luxuries that we’ve denied to everyone else. JFK once said, “if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” It is in that spirit that I am writing this letter. This week marks the start of the base budgeting process. Reach out to your elected representatives. Tell them that the 105 clubs and organizations deserve better. I write this letter to the editor in the hope that I can change things for the better. However, I can’t do this alone. I need your help and your support.

Bobby Berriault

SGA Senator