Ohio University Student Senate closed out the quarter by passing a resolution disagreeing with the rebalancing of the General Fee.
Senate President Kyle Triplett said OU officials’ suggestion that some money might be moved from the General Fee, which funds academic support programs and student services, to the General Fund pushed senate to draft the resolution.
“There has been some minor shifting of funds, but nothing major yet,” Triplett said. “The possibility itself affected senate enough that senate passed a resolution saying it doesn’t support it, just in case (the issue) arose.”
University Life Commissioner Zachary George, the primary sponsor of the resolution, was absent from the meeting and had Triplett speak on his behalf by reading an email aloud.
“I don’t support any sort of rebalance,” George said in the email. “To me, such a movement represents a short-term fix to a long-term problem. … Voting in favor of this resolution is voting in favor of the students.”
The resolution stated that senate believes academic support programs and student services are essential to the mission of OU, and if the funds were rebalanced, students might not receive the same quality from these programs.
“We all came (to OU) to walk away with a college degree,” said secondary sponsor Evan Ecos, senate's Residence Life commissioner. “However, the reason why we stay here is because we have the services by the General Fee.”
The General Fee, which was a total of about $30,000,000 in the 2010-2011 academic year, supports such programs and services as intercollegiate athletics, the division of student affairs and the graduate college.
“It’s important we continue to support the General Fee,” Ecos said. “With the rebalancing and redistribution of funds, we could see a dramatic cut.”
tl674710@ohiou.edu
