USG President Suspends Off-Campus Funding Policy After Controversy

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Sen. Alex Markow talks to clubs after a senate meeting /Photo by Rachel O'Brien

By Rachel O'Brien

The Sept. 27 senate meeting ended with chaotic open agenda complete with yelling students, a banging gavel, and a quick dismissal of the meeting by Undergraduate Student Government Executive Vice President Nathan Shapiro.

After hearing the dissatisfaction of sports clubs with the USG off-campus trip policy at that chaotic meeting, USG President Joseph Antonelli penned an executive order, suspending the policy until the senate acts.

Opposition to the policy on funding clubs’ off-campus trips, as implemented by last year’s USG senate came to a head as members of primarily sports clubs converged at the senate meeting on Sept. 27, waiting until open agenda to be given their turn to speak.

“This is one of the largest senate meetings you’ll ever see because we care to talk about this,” John Gemma, vice president of Sports Club Council and member of men's rugby, said to the senate. “We weren’t put on the agenda but we’re here anyway.”

The heated debate that took place at the senate meeting focuses on the rather simple method for determining how clubs’ off-campus activities will be paid for: the club’s USG budget will pay for 85 percent of the costs, the other 15 percent must be paid for by the students in that club. That 15 percent can come from fundraising monies or the pockets of the students in the club.

As of Friday Sept. 28, Antonelli’s executive order is suspending the 15 percent policy that was in effect. He is leaving the policy up to the senate to decide. They may keep the policy, adjust it, or abolish it altogether for another piece of legislation, according to senators. The policy was never adopted into the budget by-laws, thus not formal legislation.

Sports clubs are an anomaly when it comes to the topic of funding. Not funded by the university as the football, baseball and basketball teams are, and not quite falling into the same class a clubs, which don’t travel off-campus nearly as often as sports clubs, the sports clubs feel as if they are being cheated by the USG budget.

“It’s just killing everyone here,” Eric, a member of the ice hockey team, said at the meeting. “You’re cutting over $8,000 from us. We travel every weekend to get the school’s name out and you’re denying us.” USG President Joseph Antonelli addressed the comment by reminding him that the ice hockey club received a budget increase of $20,000 this year.

At the meeting Executive Vice President Nathan Shapiro and President Antonelli took turns explaining that the basis for the policy stems from the fact that off-campus trips, which tend to be expensive, are open only to those specific students who go on those trips. On-campus activities are open to the entire student body and usually yield a higher turnout among students. Thus an on-campus event is more fiscally responsible by catering to more people than off-campus trips. Although the policy seems to be hitting the wallets of sports clubs harder than any other clubs, the policy does apply to all types of clubs seeking to take part in off-campus activities.

Asian Student Alliance, Chinese Association and PUSO all came to argue their point against the policy at a previous meeting on Sept. 20. The three representatives from the clubs argued that it’s not fair to make them pay 15 percent of trip costs. Asian Student Alliance and Chinese Association both attend conferences on the East Coast and don’t think the members of the club should have to pay for it. But sports clubs still say they’re bearing the brunt of it.

“We can’t afford to travel without that 15 percent, “Navneet Sing, president of the Ballroom Dancing Club, said. “Stony Brook is a respected name at dance competitions and if we start bringing five or six couples we would lose our name. Why are you singling us out?”

Antonelli explained that sports clubs weren’t being singled out but that how money was being spent and on what, was the focus of the off-campus trip policy.

Very few senators spoke up during the debates in open agenda, as Shapiro and Antonelli took it upon themselves to respond to most of the comments from students in the gallery. However, Sen. John Kriscenski did briefly take the side of the sports club members. “Most of the [ballroom dancing] practices happen on campus,” he said. “It’s an activity for all.”

While angry students were still in line to speak, albeit skirting the rules for stated senate procedures, Shapiro, frustrated with the lack of respect for the senate and its operations, ended the meeting suddenly with a loud bang of the gavel and an announcement that the meeting is adjourned.

Antonelli presented a suggestion to those clubs dissatisfied with the policy.

“I’ll entertain any real options for a rational plan to fix the budget,” he said. “But standing here complaining ‘it’s not fair’ isn’t going to do you any good.”

Antonelli did make himself available to talk to students after the meeting and wrote the executive order the next day. Now the senators must act to decide what the policy for funding off-campus trips will be.

“They’re coming, yelling at us when we had nothing to do with it,” Sen. Kyle Grogan said in an interview, referring to the students who came to the senate meeting. “Senate is too formal a setting and after senate is too chaotic so we talked about having a panel.”

Sen. Stephen Elardo echoed Grogan’s sentiments about the methods of discussing the policy.

“Both sides have really good points,” he said in a phone interview. “We’re not this bank that has a never-ending supply of funds but at the same time we realize these off-campus trips do represent Stony Brook and fulfill the goals and missions of these clubs.”

He suggested, as Grogan also had, that the senate sit down with clubs in a quasi hearing setting, where a question and answer session could take place, “instead of berating back and forth”, he said.

“We want to sit down and talk with the clubs that are affected to see if we can find something that’s beneficial to both sides,” Elardo said. Also hoping to sit down with and talk to clubs, Jeffrey Akita, vice president of clubs and organizations, said that he hopes clubs will come talk to him about this.

“At leadership day I mandated that they come talk to me,” he said in an interview. “No one has come yet but hopefully they will, I’m always here for them to come talk to me.”