Published last week in the Daily Orange was a letter criticizing the Student Association Comptroller/finance board for deciding to pull back the unused Fetty Wap artist fee from University Union (UU). The letter says that SU students will “suffer” from the decision and includes a call to action: “do your job,” addressed to nobody in particular.

First, it’s important to know that this money will indeed fund student-run events on campus. It will support your First Year Players production, your Fashion’s Conscience show, your Caribfest, or any of the myriad programs we get to have in the spring. The students producing and attending those programs need representation, too.

Second, SA did not violate its own financial code. The letter used a quote from the code about unused funds being allowed to stay in an organization’s account until the end of the semester. This is true. However, a mere page earlier in that very same document that, “The Comptroller shall have the authority to deny the expenditure of any allocated funds.” Basically, the money is not “UU’s to use” as the author argues, and any repurposing of funds has to be approved.

Of course, UU shouldn’t be blamed for Fetty Wap’s ding-dong-ditch. However, the concert happened, it’s over now, and it seems a good time was still had by all, so my question is: what exactly is the case for not giving this money to other student organizations? Why can’t we trust UU to throw other good events as they had already planned to do well before the cancellation?

I posit that Fetty Wap’s artist fee can have greater impact on campus if it is spread across many organizations rather than rolled back to one. There is a case to be made for the other side of that debate, but it was absurdly presented last week.

Phil Kramer

Former SA Comptroller

Class of 2017

Published on October 3, 2016 at 10:47 pm