Response to Appropriations Appeal Article

I am extremely disappointed at the level of reporting exhibited in Ms. Kinzer’s article concerning the recent Black Caucus Appropriations appeal. As Vice-Chair of the Appropriations committee I saw the events surrounding the appeal first-hand. The committee has been vilified in this article, and I am troubled that the full story was not reported to my fellow students.
The Black Caucus did submit their original “appeal” within 14 days, as anyone who listened to what the committee said should know. The problem arose however because this so-called appeal did not meet any of our guidelines’ three basic requirements for an appeal! When Ms. Moon, the president of Black Caucus, did not provide any documentation or concrete evidence to present to the committee, we said that we could not consider it. The committee suggested she come back with something tangible instead of simply restating the claims she made at her original budget request.

She returned over a month later.

To hear an appeal in March for a budget submitted in December would be unacceptable. I understand that Ms. Moon may not have been clear on the date to return, and I understand that many students want this dance…but we have to follow the rules. The Senate ignored our stance however, and granted the Caucus its request. The case may soon be taken up by the Judicial Branch, as Senate may have committed a violation by hearing an “appeal” that Appropriations did not recognize. I feel as if this larger controversy was overlooked in CT’s report, and I hope more effort will be made in the future.
Moreover, on a more personal note, I would like to address some of the negative attitudes towards Appropriations that were revealed in this dilemma. Ms. Moon feels like the “Joan of Arc” for student organizations, and I understand her frustration. However, Appropriations has been made to appear like we’re on the other side, as if we were against them. The truth is we are students too, and we only want to benefit the student body. Committee members work four to seven hours a week, without pay, because they are passionate about their job. However harsh it may seem, we ensure that we do our job fairly by maintaining a strict set of guidelines, and expecting a high level of responsibility from our student organizations. I would hope that the students would expect no less from a committee managing hundreds of thousands of their dollars. Please know that when we make decisions as difficult and controversial as this one, we do so only in this spirit of fairness, and always in the best interests of the student body as a whole.

Thank You,
Jessica Lee
Senator and Vice-Chair of SGA Appropriations