By Venkat Ramamoorthi
Mike Huckabee: $25,000
Event in Kendall Hall: 40 minutes
Closed door dinner banquet with members of the SGA and SFB: 90 minutes.
Apparently the SGA thinks that when they sponsor a speaker to come to campus they are doing it purely for their own enjoyment. The problem is they are using our tuition money to pay for their fun.
Prior to the Mike Huckabee speech in Kendall Hall the SGA held a closed door banquet dinner for Mike Huckabee in Loser Hall. The banquet lasted 90 minutes, more than twice as long as the actual event the SGA was funded to host.
I’m well aware that in many cases groups that bring speakers to campus go out with the speakers they sponsor. But in these instances there are key differences. The outing occurs after the event, not at the sacrifice of it. And it is an outing. In the Huckabee case tuition money paid for a private banquet on campus before the actual event.
To be fair there was a short time dedicated to a book signing in the Social Science Building Atrium for about 50 minutes after the banquet and before the event. The members of the SGA and SFB, however, kept the line of students moving faster than the Soup Man. After all, why should they care if anyone else talks to the speaker after they do?
How did all of this get the okay for funding? The SFB voted in favor of this course of events for this price tag. Looking closer reveals the answer. The SFB was invited to the private banquet and some its members were present there.
They used our tuition money to host a night of fun for themselves and the students got the leftover 40 minutes. This is unacceptable.
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NICEEEEEE!
Word. And why are we paying $25,000 for a speaker of virtually no political relevance.
This is a great letter. I hope more students are aware now, because this is unfair. I’d be curious to see what SFB/SGA’s response is… if they even have one…
Not a single solitary statement in this is factual. I can’t believe the author would write something so stupid without checking with the groups he is attacking.
Corrections:
Kendall Hall event: 1 hour (8:15-9:15)
SGA Dinner with Huckabbee: 45 minutes (6:15-7:00)
Book Signing: 1 hour (7:10-8:10)
There were no members of the SFB at the dinner besides the SGA Representative to SFB and the Junior Class VP who also happens to sit on the SFB. They both did not even get to vote on this event’s funding because they were in SGA.
Finally, SAF money DID NOT pay for the dinner. SGA Paid for it purely out of its own fundraising money.
That is our response…”if we even have one”…you will see response letters in next week’s Signal. It’s a shame that this author would attack 2 groups that do such great work for this school.
Great work for the school? Like what? Allocating ridiculous amounts of money to irrelevant politicians and right-wing nutbags? Wasting our mandatory activities fee on dumb events only attended by members of said organizations? Sending out countless facebook invites to join groups for 4000 irrelevant officer elections? SFB and SGA are only useful to the self-important people who are a part of them.
L: That’s very sad that you think what you think. Sorry that SFB does not allocate money only to groups that bring people that share your views. If only you knew all that SGA does for the student body, you would shut up very fast. Try coming to an SGA general body meeting…you would tuck your tail between your legs.
Seriously? I’d shut up? Tuck my tail between my legs? Gee, that gives me a great opinion about the holy members of SFB/SGA. So sorry, I can’t hear you over your self-importance. Notice how you didn’t provide me with any real examples, only with the standard “SGA IS RELEVANT AND WE ARE ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE ON CAMPUS SO SHUT UP AND JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUPS TO FUEL OUR TYPE A PERSONALITIES”
and I’m a moderate, but thanks for jumping to conclusions about my political views.
Examples:
1. SGA fought to extend Friday Library hours until 8:00 PM from 6:00 PM
2. SGA is pushing through governance an Honor Code for the entire student body to lend integrity to the campus
3. SGA members have traveled hundreds of miles across the state to meet with legislators and testify at budget committee hearings to reduce the loss of state funding….to save you money.
4. SGA members got the Metzger Apartment driveways opened to student vehicle traffic for drop offs/unloading so that cars are no longer stopping and unloading on Metzger Dr. You will see this change during Finals Week.
5. SGA spent $1600 of its fundraising money to but a brand new bench press machine for the Physical Enahancement Center, due to arrive in a week, and are working to get more money dedictaed to its upkeep.
Should I keep going or are you going to seriously shut up and thank the people that are fighting to make your experience at TCNJ better?
The fact that you’re still bitterly telling me to “shut up” says a lot about the attitude of most of SGA/SFB. They’re both organizations full of people with overly-inflated egos just looking to put an extra line on their resumes. Have I struck a nerve by pointing out that your positions are entirely useless?
As for those examples you’ve given me, you’ve got to be kidding me. Extended library hours? Too bad I don’t care about going to the library on a Friday night. Additionally, this is something that could have been achieved without SGA’s godly help, if enough students had come together to ask for it. The same goes with the Metzger Drive access you’re patting yourself on the back for (once again, doesn’t impact me, since I don’t live on campus).
And an honor code? I’m sorry, but how will that help me in any way? I’m a big girl, I already know not to plagiarize, and I would hope that my peers feel the same. This is just another chance for SGA/SFB to give themselves self-congratulations for something completely uselss.
Traveling across the state to protest the budget cuts? Oh, you poor, selfless souls-not. Those fighting the hardest and organizing the best across campus to fight the recent budget costs are those who AREN’T involved in SGA or SFB. You know, people who do it because they actually care…
And a $1600 bench press? I’m supposed to pat you on the back for that? The PEC is already 2/3 weight lifting machines, and this decision is just a waste of money and space. Why not, I don’t know, buy something useful for the fitness center? More cardio machines, for example, or an air conditioner… Also, way to buy a machine that will pretty much only be used by guys. What a man!
So selfish. So sad. At least the rest of the student body is not as unappreciative of what their fellow students do for them.
PS – If you would like to give SGA $6000.00, I’m sure SGA would gladly purchase a new treadmill.
So self-important. So useless. So sad.
You’re missing my point entirely. It’s not that I disagree with your “achievements” just because they don’t benefit me- I disagree completely with the idea that they ARE achievements, because they add nothing constructive to the campus community. They’re just useless gestures used by SGA/SFB to pat themselves on the back. You’ve failed to point me to anything truly useful SGA has done.
It’s interesting that as a proud, important member of one of these organizations, you’re nonetheless remaining anonymous. Is that because your defense is excessively angry and pompous? If you’re so proud of the work you do, then say who you are instead of belittling me. As a representative, people deserve to know what your true character is like…
And also, there are cardio machines other than treadmills- stationary bikes start around 600 dollars.
I agree with L on these points. Not because I’m some crazy ungrateful student, but because X is altogether far too threatening and angry. If I knew who that was I most certainly would not vote for someone who thinks it’s appropriate behavior to refer to other students opinion’s as “So sad, so sad” As if that is somehow relevant to any discussion. I also wouldn’t want to be told to “Shut Up” by any representative that I elected into office.
You can find some details as to what actually happened here:
http://www.tcnjsignal.net/2010/04/20/student-finance-board-responds-to-mike-huckabee-piece/
Mike I know we just talked about this, but since this is public I think it is appropriate to post what we talked about:
The point that my article as making was that it is it was inappropriate for the SFB to okay a banquet prior to the presentation to the students.
Although the SGA may have paid for the catering of the banquet, it is the student body that was billed the $25,000 for the speaker’s time. The return on this investment of a presentation lasting less than an hour is unacceptable.
Furthermore, by approving the banquet to occur before the presentation set up a situation where the banquet for a minority was able to run its full length, while the actual event for the majority of students was abbreviated.
I did not mean my article to be condemnation of the SGA or SFB at large, but I do not want to see these course of events repeated.
This is my opinion; how you take it is your decision. I think to reject it would be a mistake.
Venkat, I understand your opinion but there are far more constructive ways to express it than accusing your fellow students who have dedicated countless hours contributing to the campus in an attempt to make it a better place for you. Again, you have misconstrued facts and even our conversation in an effort to paint myself, the SFB, and the SGA in a negative light. I could tell even during our brief conversation that you would refuse to change your stance on this matter. I’m sorry for the wording of this post, however, I am truly disappointed that even after our conversation you would refuse to believe that the students (SGA) who put this event on were doing it for the benefit of the campus, not for some stupid, insignificant dinner beforehand, a dinner that in no way changed the nature of the event. While I am not a member of SGA and have been in adversarial roles with them on more than one occasion, I firmly believe they are not in the wrong, and that any issue with the time of the dinner was caused through timing issues with Huckabee.
I was pointing out a problem at our school…please do not discount it by trying to discredit me.