A set of new SUNY guidelines that were put into immediate effect several weeks ago make a number of changes that will directly affect the Student Association and UB's undergraduate population.
Under the new guidelines, the vote on mandatory student activity fees has been changed from every four years to every two, effective next fall. In addition, the vote will be held simultaneously with the annual election for student government officers in the spring semester.
According to SA officials, the process of re-evaluating these guidelines began in 2001 when the SUNY chancellor established a task force to review the previous mandatory activity fee policy.
SA representatives are split on the positive and negative aspects these amendments to the guidelines will have on the UB community.
"There will be no negative consequences, but it will undoubtedly skew elections," said Josh Korman, SA communications advisor. "It will bring 1,000 to 1,500 more people who wouldn't usually vote. It will definitely skew the results, we're just not sure how yet."
Another change will affect SA allocation of funds. According to the new guidelines, future SA administrations are not bound by past referenda.
Korman also said he wasn't sure if students could expect another fee increase for the next referendum, or if the new voting system would prompt future fee increases.
"Any fee increase will be entirely up to whomever the officers are a few years from now, following the current officers," Korman said. "We try to do fewer amounts of things to tie future officers down."
SA President Anthony Burgio, however, said although he's still assessing the guideline changes, the upside for the every-two-year vote seems unclear.
"I'm not sure about the motivation for changing the referendum from every four years to every two," Burgio said. "But regardless of the motive, it's a huge expense, between advertising and voting booths."
Burgio added he thought it was pointless to have students vote more than once during their college career.
"It's redundant to have a person in the graduating class voting more than once," he said. "It's like voting for a change in the Constitution every four months. It's ridiculous."
SA Vice President Dela Yador said having the fee vote every two years would force SA to better keep an eye on its finances.
"It definitely makes the E-board's job harder for next year because there will be a lot going on, but it will definitely keep them on their P's and Q's," Yador said.
"The only negative, if there is a negative, is the extra amount of work," he added.
SA Treasurer Jessica Dangler agreed the change has an upside.
"(The vote) has never failed, so it's definitely going to be a little harder work for SA, but I think it's a good thing. It'll keep SA in check."
Dangler added that if the fee ever did become voluntary and SA's budget were dissolved, a vote every two years would better give SA a chance to keep its head above water and rebound.
Yador also pointed out that with all the votes at once, students will have to become better informed and candidates will have to communicate better to avoid Election Day blunders. If an extra thousand students turn out for the mandatory fee, but don't know any of the candidates, it could create a serious problem.
"It could definitely swing the election either way, and I just hope students are informed and know exactly who they're voting for," Yador said.
As for the guideline that exempts SA from allocating money where it's voted to go by prior administrations, Dangler said she's not happy with the change.
"I'm hoping the future E-boards would honor (previous) referenda," she said.
SA officials also expressed concerns over Stephanie Gross, the president of SUNY SA and the lone student representative on the SUNY Board of Trustees, which approved the changes.
SA officials said they doubted her ability to open solid and reliable connections between the different student governments. According to Burgio, SA wasn't informed about the changes in the guidelines until this past Friday, weeks after SUNY made the decision to alter them.
"She serves no purpose," Burgio said. "If there was a good motive (to change the guidelines), we don't know about it, and if there was no good reason, no one stood up for it."
Although Burgio isn't satisfied with the finalized decision, he said it's over and there's nothing anyone can do to change what's already been established.
"It took them years to do this, and now it's done," he said. "To give you an idea, the last time it (the policy) was updated, was sometime in the 70's. It won't happen again soon."
