SUNY-side down

If you ask UB's four delegates to the SUNY Student Assembly what their organization accomplished at its fall conference this past weekend, they will sit in silence trying to think of something, anything, that was achieved.

The silence speaks volumes about the organization, especially as all four UB delegates and SA President Dela Yador fire allegations decrying the incompetence and ineffectiveness of the only student body with a voice to Albany. The frustration has become so unbearable that Peter Rizzo, UB's lone representative on the SUNY SA executive board, has announced he will resign his E-board position.

"Going to these meetings and driving cross-state to deal with this baloney is simply not worth my time," Rizzo said. "Is it worth risking my life on the highway to get to a meeting where I just argue with people? Absolutely not. I'm not quitting SUNY SA, but I'm not going to bang my head up the wall and waste anymore of my time. I'm going to turn my attention and time to the students at Buffalo, where my time can be better spent and is of more value."

Mercedes Tavarez, another UB SUNY SA delegates, said only a small fraction of the conference yielded any results.

"We got to speak to the delegates from the other university centers, and even that discussion was limited to 20 minutes because the E-board wanted to wrap up the conference," she said. "That's really the most that we got accomplished."

In a written statement, Rizzo criticized the efficacy of the organization and reiterated his commitment to the students of UB.

"I was elected to represent the students of the University at Buffalo, not to restructure the damaged foundation of the SUNY Student Association. That is the job of the (SUNY SA) president," he wrote. "I will not spend my time fighting to get my views heard by a group that has no true direction, focus or purpose. Instead, I will work to continue making a difference right here at UB."

Feet-dragging frustration

All four UB delegates expressed feelings of frustration and aggravation after the weekend-long conference and said they spent more time arguing over petty details rather than concentrating on issues that could affect students.

"It was somewhat frustrating when we spent so much time on extremely petty things," said delegate Laura London. "For example, there was a debate over the use of 'than' versus 'then' in the bylaws. We're not accomplishing anything there."

In fact, discussions were most often stalled by debates over limiting the time spent on issues and the number of questions that could be asked.

"There was a movement to cut down on the number of questions and to put limits on discussions, and we spent way more time on that than anything of actual relevance," said Brittany Shapiro.

"We spent about three and a half hours debating one resolution" regarding E-board elections, Shapiro added.

Shapiro said it is not only impossible to discuss issues like tuition and financial aid, but it's even more difficult to get involved in the problem solving.

"You go to these conferences and ask the e-board what you can do to help, and we don't get anything from them. It's almost a waste to go at all," Shapiro said. "What I found extremely aggravating is that the E-board would come and tell us what they'd done between the conferences, but why weren't there emails telling us about this so we could get involved?"

Misplaced priorities

According to Tavarez, the interests of the E-board, the president of whom is the only student on the SUNY Board of Trustees, don't seem to be directed at the students.

"They're extremely self-serving," Tavarez said. "We get to focused on what the E-board wants to do and what they want to discuss that the delegates don't even communicate with one another."

Dan Curtis, the SUNY SA treasurer, announced during the weekend that the delegates to the organization should support a referendum requiring every SUNY student to pay a $1 fee that would go directly to SUNY SA. There are approximately 400,000 undergraduate students in the SUNY system that would pay that fee if passed.

"And for what? 'So we can hire a professional staff,' " Rizzo said.

The need for a professional staff may be legitimate, but the delegates will be hard-pressed to explain to their schools why they should approve and pay the fee.

"Being a SUNY delegate is an off-campus job," London said. "Not a lot of people realize that our work is in Albany, so no one will want to pay for it."

Furthermore, with 17,000 undergraduate students, UB would be contributing the most, which UB's delegates don't find to be fair.

"What if some schools approve such a referendum and others don't? Where will the money come from then?" Shapiro said. "They want us, as a school with more students, to give them more money when we don't see them doing anything for us."

SUNY SA also discussed the idea of reducing out-of-state tuition costs in an effort to attract more students, which proved to be a topic of hot debate.

"Nobody mentioned that it would necessitate an increase in in-state tuition," Rizzo said.

"It's almost a slap in the face, when your family is paying taxes to New York State and you attend a SUNY school, to lower out-of-state tuition at our expense," Shapiro added.

The proposal is a prime example of SUNY SA's rash decision-making, Rizzo said.

"They don't see the whole issues on the things that they support, and we end up paying the price."

Each UB delegates agreed they walked away from the weekend's conference with disappointment and frustration, and they are at a loss as to what their next step should be.

"I don't know what else to say," Shapiro said. "We go there with goals and we come out wanting to pull our hair out for the amount of B.S. we have to sit through."