More important than the bickering over nickels and dimes at last night's SGA funding appeals meeting was the senate's internal struggle with the administration.
In light of recent events, it would have been easy for the senate to condemn the administration for their perceived lack of communication regarding the then-$75 (now $50) graduation fee announced last week.
In a nearly unanimous vote, the senate decided to pass legislation that advises all graduating seniors this year to see the $50 fee as their only donation to Saint Louis University for at least the next five years.
"One of the key struggles I've been dealing with is that there are a lot of good people here. You hate to not give when you think about those people," said financial vice president Tom Gill. "The way this was handled was very poor."
"I think Adam has done everything you could ask. I don't know what else Adam Meister could have done to have deserved some acknowledgement that this was coming.
"He, without question, has been one of the best presidents that I have seen at this university, and he didn't even get that respect. And that really bothers me. If he doesn't deserve that respect, then I don't know who would," Gill said.
Meister read aloud the letter all graduating seniors received, detailing the perameters of the fee, and the concluding point that diplomas will be withheld.
"It is important to note that diplomas cannot be released until all fees, including the graduation fee have been paid…That is flat-out extortion. To hold a students record against them, after the work we put in to earn those degrees and the work we put into the semester, and the implied agreement with the university that our tuition will go to cover the cost of graduation, quite frankly, I think it's embarassing," Meister said.
Seven SLU law students filed an injunction with the city this morning, Meister said, requiring the university to release their records, and asking for a declaratory judgement.
"Our students are suing our university," Meister said.
The senators were still not satisfied with the extent of the resolution. Some seniors were saying that they plan on "making this $50 the hardest the University will ever have to count," by paying the fee in 5,000 pennies.
Michael Heithaus authored an amendment to add all the senators as cosponsors of the bill. President- elect Cari Johns and Financial Vice President-elect Joe Cirillo abstained.
"Cari and Joe, I love you both, but I can't believe that. Get on the cosponsor list. I think that's ridiculous. For you guys to be the leading student representatives next year, and to not feel like you can sponsor their concerns; that saddens me a little bit," said Heithaus.
"I've been in an emotional turmoil, and I've been caught between a rock and a hard place this whole week," said Cari Johns, senator of Arts and Sciences. "My internal debate is that come next year, these are the people that I will be on PCC with. I cannot jeopardize my position already."
Another bone of contention with the administration that the senators ruminated on was the fact that the graduation fee isn't the only fee being inflated at an alarming rate.
Senator Tim Mulhall brought up the tuition remission handling fee. If a SLU student's parent work for the university, they get a tuition break. In 1996, that fee was $20 per course, in 1999, it was upped to $30, and then to $50 in 2002. For next year, the fee is set at $120.
The senators agreed that these arbitrary fees are an "epidemic plaguing this university."
Senator Cooper Smith mentioned the Senior Week t-shirt idea the committee is playing around with; reading "Senior Citizen" on the front, and "After all these years, still no senior discount," on the back.
Meister advised that all senators be present next Monday at the PCC town hall meeting, and told them each to bring ten of their friends, where hopefully the administration will address the question on everyone's mind: where is all the student money going?
The misappropriation of student funds was brought up in a different context, when Senator Jack Smedile brought up a bill to authorize the Judicial board to further investigate and castigate the parties involved with the Melody of Praise polo shirt debacle.
The resolution was voted down.
The appeals funding was a rehashing of last week's meeting, minus some of the vagarious argument. None of the groups got the amount they asked. Oriflamme received $2153, APO $3,000, and APCS as a whole secured $3068.18. A total of $8, 221.18 out of the $10,000 appeals budget was allocated.
Two new student groups were chartered, the Civil Air Patrol; a civilian search and rescue , and Kids Next Door, a student mentor group that reaches out to adolescents in juvenile detention centers.
