OSPIRG Seeks Funding
According to a Daily Emerald story today by Emily Gillespie, OSPIRG is seeking to refund themselves for the upcoming 2010-11 school year. This should come as no surprise to students, as the group’s entire motives as of late have been to get themselves some sweet student funding (think little yellow flyers).
Jeremy Blanchard, an ASUO senator, apparently has no idea why or how OSPIRG was defunded last year:
Blanchard, whose knowledge of OSPIRG was previously limited to second-hand knowledge, is simply advocating that OSPIRG get fair and unbiased consideration when it comes to refunding it next year.
“Viewpoint neutral. That’s the idea; everyone always strives for that and that’s where our power comes from,” he said.
Of course, OSPIRG wasn’t defunded for any ulterior political motives. Nay, last year’s ASUO executive was fiscally conservative, and in an effort to create effecient spending of student funds (and to lessen the loads on student wallets) they simply asked OSPIRG for transparency on how they spent their money.
When OSPIRG couldn’t prove that they returned all their money to campus (like other fee-funded institutions like the Rec Center, Health Center etc) they were defunded.
What is surprising, however, is the amound of money that OSPIRG is asking for and how they’ve gone about asking for it.
Senator Alex McCafferty summed it up:
“A lot of it has to do with the current budget — it’s tight and isn’t conducive to adding a budget of that magnitude,” McCafferty said.
He added that the group has asked for the exact same budget as last year, seemingly with “no new information.”
“So far what I see is the same argument, the same proposal — the exact same budget request,” McCafferty said. “It didn’t fly last year and I don’t think it’s going to fly this year.”
Of course, what OSPIRG has failed to do is prove, once again, is how their $117,000 budget returns to campus. Apparently they didn’t get the memo that they were defunded last year because of that little fact. Although you’ve got to admire them for submitting the same budget with no added transparency.
It takes some serious balls to be that stupid.
