OLD UNION—Last Tuesday, the ASSU Appropriations Committee met to discuss the future of student life programs on campus. In light of new budget rules and by-laws, the continued existence of student life on campus is no longer guaranteed. During its meeting, the Appropriations Committee voted to cut funding for student life by 63 percent. Anton Zietsman ‘12, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, explained, “It is our job to make sure we are fiscally responsible. We recognize that student life is an important issue on campus, but it is the belief of the Appropriations Committee that student life is also wasteful and expensive. We had to restrict its funding.”
Though the Appropriations Committee was confident in its decision to pull the plug on student life, its confidence is not shared by the student body. According to Maria Rogers ’11, President of the Bioethics Honors Society, “Protecting student life should be the largest priority of the ASSU Senate. We can’t let a few Senators allow student life on campus to end. We need to fight for our right to survive.”
In the few days following the budget cuts, over 30 students were found dead in the Main Quad. “I mean, we ended our support of student life. Of course there are going to be losses, and they won’t always be easy, but we need to be fiscally conservative—that’s what it means to be a good Senator,” explained Alex Katz ’12, in support of the Appropriations Committee’s decision.
According to Senate rules, supporters of student life can petition 15 percent of the student body to have student life restored. Many view this task as daunting, but due to the rapidly declining size of the student body, supporters of student life need to collect only 107 signatures.
