CPF resolution hits speed bump at SGA general board meeting
A resolution to increase the Campus Programming Fund hit a legislative wall Monday evening after the Student Government Association Senate and House of Representatives voted in opposition to one another.
The resolution requests that the CPF – which funds programs including the SGA, Multicultural and Academic Student Services, Student Activities and Involvement, University Recreation, Greek Life and the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center – be increased to $1.8 million to be on par with what it should be, as the fund hasn't been adjusted for inflation since its creation in 2001. The fund has lost more than $348,000 in buying power over the years and the resolution seeks to change that.
SGA's House and Senate convened at the general board meeting to vote on several resolutions, with the CPF resolution being the hot-button issue of the night. The Senate passed the resolution and the House tabled it after amending.
Members of the House initially did not want to vote on the resolution, saying they did not know all of the finite details, such as where the additional money would go to, despite several introductions of drafts of the resolution that were presented at previous SGA meetings.
An amendment to the resolution was introduced in the House by Detroit freshman Andrew Holland requiring that the fund be increased on a yearly basis, contingent with changes of tuition rate for in-state undergraduates.
“A few (registered student organization representatives) talked about the amendment and thought if (the university) is going to increases tuition on us, the CPF should be raised along with it,” Holland said.
Student Budget Allocation Committee chair Kevin White, author of the CPF resolution and head of the drive to have the fund increased, adamantly opposed the amendment during the House meeting.
“The plan is to have the fund re-evaluated every four years so this resolution will have a shot of actually being passed by the Board of Trustees,” White said. “The addition of this amendment might cause it to fail when it reaches the board, as it will weaken the board’s power over the budget.”
House members raised the question as to where the additional money would be coming from, citing a possible increase in tuition to cover the costs, should it be passed by the board.
“Tuition has increased every year, yet the fund did not change,” SGA President Marie Reimers said. “To get the $2 million that was originally calculated, which we dropped to $1.8 million, the cost would be $80 per student a year. Tuition has been increased more than that previously without any of it going to CPF.”
Votes from the House resulted in a vote of 61-39, but ultimately the House chose to table voting on the resolution itself until the next meeting.
While the House approved the amendment and tabled the vote, the Senate struck down the amendment and passed the CPF resolution as is.
Brighton senior and Senator William Joseph raised some concerns about the resolution before it was voted on, asking what SGA was going to do with all the additional money it would receive and highlighting an SGA budget update given at the beginning of the meeting that stated SGA still has more than $16,000 left to spend this year.
The CPF resolution was not the only resolution being voted on during the House and Senate meetings.
They also voted on the divestment resolution, asking the university to stop investing in fossil fuel businesses, a solar resource expansion resolution supporting the development alternative means of electricity and heat generation on campus and a resolution asking for the university to add more funding, space and staff to the Office of Student Disability Services.
The Senate tabled the divestment resolution until their next meeting and passed both disability services and solar energy resolutions.
The House also tabled the divestment resolution until their next meeting, passed the solar energy resolution and tabled the disability services resolution until more information as to where the additional money to pay for the center would come is given.
