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Senate Undermines PFC’s Job

The recent controversy regarding the Veterans’ and Family Student Association has revealed, if anything, more failures and flaws of the ASUO and the budgeting process. Before I continue, let me note that PFC, for the most part, has done a far better job that most years past, with a fairly realistic model and consistent views.

However, both Senate and the Executive undermined the PFC process throughout the past several weeks, with statements at meetings such as “You have money, why not just give it to them?” or “I think you’d be ok if you spent more money” or “Don’t worry about Senate, we aren’t fiscally conservative anymore” or “I will not vote for a budget giving X group higher than Y amount, no matter what”. The political pressure that the Executive and certain non-PFC Senators exerted on the PFC body inhibited their ability to do an already difficult job.

All of this reeks of the political games that cloud the already convoluted process.

And while it is important for the Senate not to be a rubber stamp and approve any budget set before it by the PFC, threatening to vote down a budget based on a number alone is also extremely arbitrary and disregardful of the qualitative analysis done by the PFC body. It is also wrong that Steven Wilsey should have so much influence over the Senate’s decisions. Yes, he was the person that put a lot of work into the model and yes, he did have a lot of numbers right, but solely following his opinion is disrespectful and blatantly inconsiderate of the rest of the PFC body’s legitimacy.

The Senators pledging to follow Wilsey are saying: Regardless of the fact that six agreed on a budget painstakingly and unanimously, because one person, ONE PERSON, who is NO LONGER on the body, disagrees, we will vote it down.

The system is not perfect. Not even close. But for it to work somewhat, each respective position and body need to stay in their lanes and stop undermining the judgment of the others.

  1. Toby says:

    Here is the thing. Who cares if you don’t get the money you want. Overspend your PFC allocation, then just go to the Senate for surplus. Works everytime. The MCC director sure figured that out my year. The system is flawed and the people controlling the money are the groups that get it so they have no incentive to change it. I chuckled when I read Diego’s letter saying something to the effect of wanting to serve the students. Seriously?

  2. GRIM_GNARLICON says:

    GRIM GNARLICON WILL WEAR MARGE’S SKIN LIKE A CHEAP SUIT AFTER EVISCERATING HER WITH A HELLA DEMONIC DAGGER AND DEVOURING HER LARGE VOLUME OF FLESH RAW.

    HAIL SATAN.

  3. Sakaki says:

    And marge just keeps on reaching.

  4. margeincharge says:

    You’re not secretly advocating, you are just publicly biased

  5. Sean says:

    I just realized this: If I were really just trying to secretly advocate for the VFSA, then why would I slam the Exec and certain Senators for pressuring PFC to spend more? Sen. Gulley wanted PFC to use all of the $100,000, which would have gotten VFSA the full amount.

  6. Sean says:

    Possibly true. Oh well.

  7. smallmarge says:

    Sean seems to lose his levelheaded OC viewpoint when they’re talking about his baby the VFSA. Seems like a conflict of interests to me

  8. CJ Ciaramella says:

    But I thought Large Marge died in a truck crash ten years ago! It was the worst accident I ever seen.

  9. largemarge says:

    But, wait, shouldn’t we be glad that the Senate is standing up in the face of typical ASUO profligacy, regardless of who they are undermining?

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