Sure, SA brought in Kanye West for Fall Fest, but a promised North Campus health center is still M.I.A. Do the efforts of Yador & Co. make the grade? Today, a look at SA's finances, SUNY relations, and its clubs. On Wednesday, a second report card will focus on executive and administration relations, the legislature itself, and entertainment.
Finances: B+
There have been years when SA has spent so much on Fall Fest, everything else suffered. This year, Fall Fest did not become a budget buster. In fact, bringing the "Caution Tour" and Kanye West to UB last semester proved to be a coup for SA, with two arena-sized concerts for just about the price of one.
Relative fiscal responsibility has allowed for a comedy series featuring big name comedians to be booked for this semester, along with enough money for at least one DJ event. Because the budget looks good, SA can afford top-flight talent for the yet-to-be-announced Spring Fest.
While entertainment is key to SA, clubs are its lifeblood, and a reasonable budget has allowed SA to be generous with most clubs' financial needs. According to several club treasurers, clubs have usually been given the money they have asked for. All in all, the SA has done a commendable job in handling its finances.
SUNY Student Assembly relations: A
UB's SUNY Student Assembly delegates have had both successes and frustrations this semester. While they won a seat on the executive committee - a position of power UB has not had in years - the delegates have also struggled in a faulty organization with few peers.
However, the SUNY SA has faced the wrath of Peter Rizzo, who has been attempting to implement change from within the SUNY organization. Upon being elected as a SUNYSA Delegate, Rizzo encountered a ballooning Assembly whose inefficiencies make merely voting on the organization's name impossible, let alone reform enactment the organization desperately needs. Bureaucratic inertia and resistance to change have played a major role in this, but Rizzo's efforts have not been for naught. By threatening to step down from his executive board position, Rizzo has been able to leverage movement in streamlining and pulling other SUNY schools up to the student government standards UB currently has for itself. He has brought light to structural problems that detract from the effectiveness of the Assembly as a whole. Rizzo says unprofessional and noncommittal student appointees more concerned with partying than the job at hand are to blame, and he is working to change the current membership requirements, including requiring all delegates be elected at their respective schools as opposed to political appointees.
The efforts of Rizzo and his fellow delegates have yet to bring much back to UB, but this is undoubtedly one of the hardest-working groups within SA, and their slow but powerful progress is nothing less than outstanding.
Club relations: B+
As treasurer, Kased has been diligent in keeping up with clubs' funding requests by speeding up the process for the dispersion of funding needs for clubs. The accelerated request process also enabled Sub-Board I to change its policies in response to Kased's changes. A process that could be delayed by weeks now can be done in a matter of days, merely by processing paperwork in a timely manner.
Kased appears to be helping clubs clear a major funding logjam by meeting with clubs well in advance of March's budgetary hearings. By keeping clubs apprised of their requirements and encouraging continuously auditing their own finances, clubs are better prepared to request and get funding for next year. It's refreshing to see that though Kased and other SA members may be graduating, they are not ignoring those who will be here when they are gone.
