Scrutiny surrounding the use of student activity fees to fund the Sex Workers’ Art Show will not change the way the SGA allocates and spends student activity fees, according to SGA President Ali Faruk.
“Students control the spending process by electing representatives who decide what will and what will not be funded,” Faruk stated in an e-mail. “All students are welcome and encouraged to give their input to their student senators about the funding process for student organizations.”
Reuban Rodriguez, associate vice provost and dean of student affairs, said the Sex Workers’ Art Show event was funded by the SGA and Queer Action, a student organization.
“There was at least $800 funded directly through Queer Action, and between $1,200 and $1,500 of the student activity fees was used for that particular event,” Rodriguez said.
The Sex Workers’ Art Show event is not listed on the approved 2006-2007 budgets for student organizations. If registered student organizations have a particular line item that costs less than $1,000, Rodriguez said, the organizations do not need to go through a review process with the SGA.
Local Williamsburg newspaper The Virginia Gazette reported the Sex Workers’ Art Show cost $1,800 and was paid in part by student activity fees at the College of William and Mary.
For more information, the approved ’06-’07 budgets for student organizations is available online at http://www.usca.vcu.edu/studentorgs/finances.htm.
Steven C. Latimer, SGA senator and chairman of the senate legislative affairs and civil action committee, said the SGA should spend more time investigating and researching policies relating to university finance.
“The university has done nothing illegal, but they have wasted hundreds of dollars on a stupid, pointless strip show,” Latimer said. “My reason behind investigating these things (policies) is my desire to enact sound fiscal policy.”
Faruk explained the appropriations committee’s process for allocating funds.
“The student senate appropriations committee reviews each budget request and uses their appropriations bylaws to decide what events/activities to fund,” Faruk stated. “These budgets must be approved by the SGA senate. The budgets are sent to the president to sign and the president has the option to veto.”
Latimer said he has reservations about the process.
He said the VCU student body shows a lack of interest in the SGA, which annually controls $1.5 million in student activity fees.
“With this past senate election, all who ran for senate won because there were 25 candidates running for 25 positions,” he said.
“There is very little interest in the SGA on behalf of the student body because the SGA still needs to clean up its act,” Latimer said. “Only then will more students want to run for SGA office.”