More than one month into the semester and one week after the Fee Referendum vote, Student Association President Anthony Burgio and his administration have scored some major accomplishments, including a health center and uniform Sub-Board fee - but have also left some campaign promises unfulfilled.
"I ran on a platform that had some external points, huge events and free tickets," Burgio said. "But every president comes into office with what they really want to accomplish, what they really want to leave behind. And I want to strengthen the Student Association."
In the platform for the Elevation Party, which swept last semester's elections, Burgio and his colleagues outlined last spring how they exactly planned to strengthen SA and take the organization "to the next level."
One issue Vice President Dela Yador raised was the relationship with clubs and how that needed to be improved. According to club members, Yador has made a noticeable impact in bridging the gap between the E-board and SA clubs as he promised in his platform.
"Last year, the E-board was very exclusive, and every time I went into the SA office I felt like they were definitely separate from everyone else," said Derek Ofori, president of the National Society of Black Engineers. "As a whole, the E-board has been much more accessible this year, and it's Dela's outgoing personality that makes the difference."
Robyn Liverpool agreed with Ofori but questioned SA's intentions.
"Dela is very outgoing, extremely approachable, and his door is always open. The E-board as a whole is more approachable, but I don't know if they're doing this to bridge the gap or if they were trying to get the clubs to vote in favor of the referendum," said Liverpool, a fellow club member with Ofori.
Cuthbert Onikute, executive director of Community Action Corps, said he also noticed a change in relations, but didn't find that Yador has done any more than past SA Vice Presidents.
"When I need him, I can find him, but as far as his job, (Dela) hasn't done any more or less than Jocelyn (Tejeda, former SA Vice President)," Onikute said.
Yador himself said he is happy with the progress but would like to bring club-E-board relations even further and make SA more student-friendly overall.
So far, the E-board hasn't set up the hours in the Student Union like they said they would, which Treasurer Jessica Dangler said they still plan to do.
And according to Yador, SA still aims to pad club budgets with corporate sponsorship, but that is a work in progress. Yador said he's given a few clubs packets outlining how to garner corporate sponsorship.
"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get sponsorship," said Yador. "These companies have all this money, but it doesn't mean they want to give it to you. You have to go through a lot of middle-men and really state your case before you can take it to the top."
Burgio added that there was a staff position created specifically for the issue of corporate sponsorship, but that didn't work out when the student who took the position left to pursue other work.
In the first month of school, his administration has had to deal with much more essential issues and top-line priorities other than corporate sponsorship, Burgio said.
Important Accomplishments
Before classes even started in August, Burgio had accomplished two major feats he promised to achieve: one, secure a new health center for North Campus and two, negotiate a uniform fee with Sub-Board I.
As if these summer successes weren't enough, the icing on the cake came last Wednesday when the student vote to increase the mandatory activity fee by $10 passed by an overwhelming margin.
Burgio, who had been campaigning for the increase all semester, said he believed the passing margin indicated SA was on the right track with the student body.
"I was impressed with how many students voted, and everything passing really beat my expectations," he said.
Some Unfulfilled Promises
Outside of Burgio's platform, there were several other key points Burgio said he would accomplish and so far has not.
Burgio promised to address over-spending by the previous administration, for which he was the treasurer. Among the things Burgio admitted SA over-spent on in 2003-04 was staff development, including conference trips to California and Florida.
Burgio has cut out all money for conferences from this year's budget, but the money allotted for staff development is up to $20,000 from $10,000.
Burgio said students shouldn't take too much stock in budget numbers.
"There's a big difference between a budget and what you actually spend," he said. "Last year there may have been $10,000 allotted, whether that may have been a trip to San Diego or polo shirt, but we actually spent somewhere in the ballpark of $60,000.
This year, we allotted $20,000 and we might end up spending $13,000."
Burgio had also said he wanted to cut non-professional staff by 40 percent, which he now says he has only been able to cut by 15 percent through position consolidation.
"I can honestly say we've tried everything possible," Burgio said. "But I did miss my target. But I don't apologize for that. I did the best I could."
Burgio added that the platform idea of "Bull Break," a school spirited break in the day for activities in the Student Union meant to promote student involvement will probably never come to fruition.
"In terms of the feasibility of it, it was probably the most far-fetched of all our platform points," he said.
Events and Expectations
At its foundation, Burgio's platform promised two things.
"I always go back to my platform ticket: huge events and free tickets, expanding the scope of our entertainment," Burgio said.
Burgio secured this summer the Fall Fest headliner he was looking for in Incubus, but failed the put together the mixed genre fest he promised students.
"A lot of the decision was made by survey results from students, questioning people at orientations and whatnot," said Marc Rosenblitt, director of SA Entertainment. "(Burgio) was very adamant about brining a large name, but someone who wouldn't break the bank."
Rosenblitt said both he and Burgio are disappointed that this month's Fall Fest will have only one genre.
They said, however, it was the best they could do under new rules surrounding ticket sales in Alumni Arena which restrict the amount of people who can purchase tickets for an event, something that would make a double-headliner show unfeasible.
But now that the $10 fee increase has passed, SA Entertainment can start taking a serious look at a Winter Fest, which would be an all hip-hop fest to balance with Fall Fest's alternative rock, Rosenblitt said.
"If it were to materialize it would be sometime in February," he said.
Strength Through Communication
Burgio also made several points last semester about overhauling SA communication.
So far, SA has not had any of the press conferences or weekly updates it said it would broadcast on SATV. According to Burgio, all that's left to completing SATV is the programming, and as part of the same process, Visions is being revamped as well.
Burgio added that he likes the idea of press conferences, and said the relationship between SA and the media should be a two-way street of respect and responsibility. At this time last year, SA cut off all direct contact with both The Spectrum and Generation.
"I think if you talk to any publication, even Generation, we've been more open with the press than any other administration in recent years," Burgio said.
Editors at Generation said they agreed there's been an improvement, but that improvement is only slight.
"They haven't been more open, they've been more accessible," said Jake Drum, an associate editor for Generation.
Meager Registration
UB's four SUNY SA delegates were elected to serve in the statewide SA that meets in Albany. However, when the four SUNY SA delegates - Robert Batdorf, Russell Cox, Emily Johnston, and Thomas Martin - campaigned last spring, they made several other promises.
All four delegates stressed their desire to increase student awareness of campus issues through media such as distributing flyers and through press coverage. They also proposed a press conference on SATV for students and the media that would be aired once a week.
But according to Johnston, the issues the delegates campaigned under are not their responsibility.
"They're not our issues. That's not under our jurisdiction. We don't have control over it. You have to understand that different parts of the platform were directed at different people," she said.
Batdorf added that addressing on-campus issues is not part of the delegates' jobs.
"All we really do is to go SUNY SA meetings once a semester and vote on bills and issues that come up," he said. "If the state tries to raise tuition or cut TAP or EOP assistance, we can fight that."
The delegates also said in their platform they would be focused on registering students in the Student Union for the November election. With the deadline two days away, the delegates have yet to run a registration table in the Union.
According to Johnston, the delegates have been working with clubs on campus to get students registered. Most club members say they have received voter registration forms in their SA office mailbox.
Furthermore, Batdorf said the delegates are currently planning Election Day events with MTV's Rock The Vote, College Democrats and College Republicans. SA vans have been reserved to drive students to local polling stations, he said.
Burgio said he acknowledged the role UB's delegates have taken so far this semester and hopes to turn what he called a "lacking program" in the right direction.
"I think that they have a lot of work to do, and I think that students have accepted the importance of their position," Burgio said. "I would hope the candidates themselves accept their challenges and meet their responsibilities."
