I came into the last Senate meeting late, so I missed most of Kyle McKenzie’s presentation on the new ADFC model. But I did arrive in time to hear that this year, ADFC is requesting a ZERO PERCENT BENCHMARK. According to the model Sen. McKenzie presented, ADFC would be able to sustain itself for two years based on the money it had and would receive from sales, etc… I didn’t quite comprehend it at first…but WHAT?! An ASUO entity is actually asking NOT to spend more money? Unprecedented.

In terms of fiscal responsibility, ADFC is an amazing role model for other student groups/departments to follow. Whatever the budget process that a group has to go through, the principle of self-sustainability is one that should be rewarded and encouraged. I strongly encourage all Senators to reward and push for groups to exhibit similar practices. Do not be afraid to question special requests, no matter how big or small the amount, or the importance of the program. It should be ensured that money doled out by Senate will help the cultural/academic/whatever development of the people that Senate represents: the students.

University Senate President Gordon Sayre appeared to speak about their plans to begin implementing online student evaluations. As a general concept, it is a great idea that will save money on paper, and hopefully make student evaluations more accessible. They are still in the process of working through potential issues such as diminishing participation rate, and I hope that University Senate keeps us informed on their progress. What I found amusing is the big deal that some of the Senators made over aspects of the evaluation process, such as divulging of personal information or ‘online signatures’. These are valid concerns, but they must not have got the memo that online evals are still a work in progress and that most of those concerns are being taken into consideration.

This ASUO meeting exemplified the fact that too many times, Senators are taking their personal concerns or vendettas or emotions and causing a ruckus. Keep in mind that *you* are being *paid* by the *students* to represent them and their interests. Keep your personal petty issues off of the table.

But then again, all this political pettiness and partisan bickering is good practice for those that plan on being politicians in the future. In that sense, you’re all doing a wonderful job. Keep it up.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 18:53 by Sean Jin and is filed under ASUO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.