View on Beacon Website here.
Lead written with minor edits by Beacon editorial board.
Only 37 days ago, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake unleashed horrific destruction upon the country of Haiti. The death toll stands at 230,000—roughly the same number of people who died in the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and also the number of people who live in Orlando, Fla.
Even though Haiti has faded from the day-to-day media fracas, the country is still on Emersonians' minds. Many of us have donated to relief efforts or have pared down our lives out of respect for our Caribbean neighbors.
Not the Emerson Recognition and Achievement Awards committee. They aren't letting anything stand in the way of a good in-crowd schmooze-fest. Not bad timing. Not shame. Not anything.
They're planning a $22,700 party. And they're asking for $16,200 from SGA coffers, thank you very much. According to SGA Treasurer Jenn Barry, unlike years past, the Student Government Association has chosen not to sponsor the event, though the body can still backtrack and approve the ERA Awards' request for the money at a meeting next week.
We call on the SGA to do their job and reject this terrible waste of student money. To provide some transparency, we promise to publish, on this page, how every SGA member casts their ballot if the matter comes to a vote.
To this point, we, the students, have footed the ERA Awards' bill with our mandatory $80 per semester student activity fee. Over four years, that adds up to $640, perhaps a month of rent.
There is no worse way to spend our money than on a party attended by 300 of our peers—less than 9 percent of the undergraduate population.
This money could be used to improve the amenities in our student lounges, or to defray the expenses of film students insuring cameras for their BFA projects, or to secure some ashtrays for the Boylston Street cigarette drag, or to set up a coffee and scones bar for the Student Center when the semester gets busy.
Or hey, we could blow it all on a lavish soirée that would turn the cast of Gossip Girl green with envy.
We recognize the desire to send the year off with a bang, and support recognizing the achievements of student leaders, but $16,200—the base retail price of a new Honda Civic—is too much by a mile. Students who are supremely lucky enough to attend a private college shouldn't have to pat themselves on the back with more money than 29 Haitians make in a year.
And in the very recent past, $16,200 wasn't enough. In 2007, the event cost $27,810. In 2008, $33,690 (more than two Civics). The ERA Awards covered some of these tabs with fundraising, but they cuddled up to SGA for the lion's share.
Last year's cost was $16,983, with SGA taking on $13,000. This page praised the ERA Awards for halving its costs—a huge step in the right direction. But that progress should continue, not disintegrate. The ERA Awards should become a responsibly-priced event, not an annual spending orgy.
We call on the SGA to cap their yearly contributions at $5,000. Combined with the approximately $5,000 the award committee has raised this year, that's ten grand—surely enough to throw a pleasant fête to remember.
There are simple, obvious steps that the ERA Awards committee can take to bring the event down to earth. SGA should refuse to dole out our money until the ERA Awards complies:
-Hold the event in the Brown-Plofker Gymnasium or another on-campus facility to avoid paying for a ballroom.
-Save $150 by having student volunteers operate the coat check.
-Save $868 by nixing the 40-page programs.
-Save $1,725 by having outgoing presidents pay their own way instead of getting a free ride on the rest of us.
-Save more by allowing outgoing presidents to opt out of receiving their $5-a-pop awards.
One member of this editorial board received such an award last year, and it went straight into the trash. Hopefully that will be the last one wasted. And hopefully, the unjustifiable expenditures of the whole event will go away with it.
Lead written with minor edits by Beacon editorial board.
Only 37 days ago, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake unleashed horrific destruction upon the country of Haiti. The death toll stands at 230,000—roughly the same number of people who died in the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and also the number of people who live in Orlando, Fla.
Even though Haiti has faded from the day-to-day media fracas, the country is still on Emersonians' minds. Many of us have donated to relief efforts or have pared down our lives out of respect for our Caribbean neighbors.
Not the Emerson Recognition and Achievement Awards committee. They aren't letting anything stand in the way of a good in-crowd schmooze-fest. Not bad timing. Not shame. Not anything.
They're planning a $22,700 party. And they're asking for $16,200 from SGA coffers, thank you very much. According to SGA Treasurer Jenn Barry, unlike years past, the Student Government Association has chosen not to sponsor the event, though the body can still backtrack and approve the ERA Awards' request for the money at a meeting next week.
We call on the SGA to do their job and reject this terrible waste of student money. To provide some transparency, we promise to publish, on this page, how every SGA member casts their ballot if the matter comes to a vote.
To this point, we, the students, have footed the ERA Awards' bill with our mandatory $80 per semester student activity fee. Over four years, that adds up to $640, perhaps a month of rent.
There is no worse way to spend our money than on a party attended by 300 of our peers—less than 9 percent of the undergraduate population.
This money could be used to improve the amenities in our student lounges, or to defray the expenses of film students insuring cameras for their BFA projects, or to secure some ashtrays for the Boylston Street cigarette drag, or to set up a coffee and scones bar for the Student Center when the semester gets busy.
Or hey, we could blow it all on a lavish soirée that would turn the cast of Gossip Girl green with envy.
We recognize the desire to send the year off with a bang, and support recognizing the achievements of student leaders, but $16,200—the base retail price of a new Honda Civic—is too much by a mile. Students who are supremely lucky enough to attend a private college shouldn't have to pat themselves on the back with more money than 29 Haitians make in a year.
And in the very recent past, $16,200 wasn't enough. In 2007, the event cost $27,810. In 2008, $33,690 (more than two Civics). The ERA Awards covered some of these tabs with fundraising, but they cuddled up to SGA for the lion's share.
Last year's cost was $16,983, with SGA taking on $13,000. This page praised the ERA Awards for halving its costs—a huge step in the right direction. But that progress should continue, not disintegrate. The ERA Awards should become a responsibly-priced event, not an annual spending orgy.
We call on the SGA to cap their yearly contributions at $5,000. Combined with the approximately $5,000 the award committee has raised this year, that's ten grand—surely enough to throw a pleasant fête to remember.
There are simple, obvious steps that the ERA Awards committee can take to bring the event down to earth. SGA should refuse to dole out our money until the ERA Awards complies:
-Hold the event in the Brown-Plofker Gymnasium or another on-campus facility to avoid paying for a ballroom.
-Save $150 by having student volunteers operate the coat check.
-Save $868 by nixing the 40-page programs.
-Save $1,725 by having outgoing presidents pay their own way instead of getting a free ride on the rest of us.
-Save more by allowing outgoing presidents to opt out of receiving their $5-a-pop awards.
One member of this editorial board received such an award last year, and it went straight into the trash. Hopefully that will be the last one wasted. And hopefully, the unjustifiable expenditures of the whole event will go away with it.
"There is no worse way to spend our money than spend our money on a party attended by .... less than 9 percent of the undergraduate population"
ReplyDeleteSpot on.
A wonderful place to start a discussion on the ERA Awards.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there's always difficulty in assigning dollar amounts to the "worth" of a particular appeal, I am—as of this Thursday night—opposing Chris's idea of capping out at $5K. Although I agree with Chris on his suggestions such as the coat check, the programs, among others, I think SGA could respectively give more to the event.
There are 3 premises to my thinking. If you're reading this comment, I ask that you disregard the fact that I'm a Senator, which could otherwise compromise my ideas because my ticket to this event is comped and I will probably be receiving recognition from this event regardless of whether I continue to fulfill my duties as Senator or fling pigeon poo for the rest of the semester.
Before I get to the first point, I'd like to address the call to transparency, which I frankly take to be included in the piece as a threat voting members of SGA: if I voted on the condition of secrecy, I'd be a pretty shitty representative. So would anyone else who displayed such cowardice in representation. For all our faults, and I mean all of them, I don't think we have such people in SGA this year; that Chris thinks threatening members with transparency will alter our behavior is hurtful in its incredibly low expectations of us as student representatives.
But to the first point of why—as of Thursday night—I'm in favor of this appeal: ERA has value left unacknowledged by this piece until 10th paragraph. Emerson's a great school. It's also a very stratified school. As a double-major, I can attest there exist silos of Emersonians delineated by department. Actors hang with actors, film students hang with film students, CC students argue with CC students. The segregation manifests without realizing it. What's worse is that the College takes little effort to counteract it. OHRL works hard to rectify it through its RA hirings and OL selections, as does Student Life through its programming. However, the richest place for "cross-pollination" occurs in student organizations. I would have never been able to act on stage without the Shakespeare Society. I wouldn't have worked on a film shoot without FPS. A MarComm/Poli-comm student only gets those opportunities through student organizations. Hand Me Down Night (excuse me, ERA Awards) does several things: (1) it recognizes that small percentage of students, perhaps no more than 3% of the student body, that keep this engine of exploratory potential running, (2) it gets all the organizations in one room so each can see what other students are doing, and (3) it celebrates an overarching community that you don't really see outside of an academic department. How many moments does Emerson come together AS A SCHOOL? Until someone else takes up the task, ERA is one of only a few things we've got.
My second point: the price. Yes, $16,200 is a lot of money. But not as much as everyone seems to think. Presuming that the student activities fee was $80 per semester and that there are roughly 3,400 undergraduate students, we're looking at a total budget just over half-a-million dollars. ERA is asking for 3% of that to recognize your peers that have enriched your college experience and community (a crucial role in an urbanite college with such a campus). Or take it a different way. Of that $160 each of you are required to pay, ERA is asking for about $4.75. Less than $5 to thank your peers for the experience they've helped to provide. It's certainly less overhead than anywhere else I can think of. How many have learned less in a class than they have in a student organization?
ReplyDeleteMy third point: the price again. I think ERA has received unfair scrutiny over the past few years. There are many appeals that students would cringe at if they saw the pricetag. Film students cost more than WLP students. Without question. That doesn't mean we shouldn't allocate money to appeals that designate more than $160 per student that benefits.
One could argue that organizations like Emerson Review and FPS are different because they have an academic grounding. They do deserve that money because they provide educational value. Sure, but ERA is still treated unfairly in comparison to other annual social events such as Casino Night, various Class Council activities, etc. Emerson Fights AIDS week applied for about twice as much money as they planned to raise for AIDS work. (If my memory serves me) the organization asked for $11,000 to fund programs expected to generate $5,000. SGA lost money, essentially donating $6,000 to a cause beyond Emerson College without the student body getting up in arms. Why? Perhaps there's an innate revulsion to awards ceremonies, or an innate reluctance to oppose AIDS relief, or a lack awareness about that appeal in general.
Anyway, my thoughts aren't finished percolating yet. I hope Emerson rests easy on the notion that no SGA member is taking this lightly. In fact, we're all in a bit of a panic. But that's beside the point. My point is, while people are still forming their opinions on this appeal, drawing on old rivalries and learning about just what the situation entails, analogies to the Haitian catastrophe only serve to completely blow the debate out of proportion, if not intelligible reality.
Nonetheless, glad ya wrote it.
;-)
JK
I think what many people, including myself, are wondering is why this event must be held in such an extravagant manner. I don't oppose holding a ceremony honoring those who deserve it, but holding a dinner at the Four Seasons, while I'm sure is very nice for those who attend, is over the top. For those that do attend, and Chris pointed out that is is less than 9% of undergrads, it still serves no academic purpose. That is a point I cannot get past.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the reason that the ERA gets heat because it is one of the few appeals that anyone outside of the organizations involved ever sees. Casino Night probably doesn't need what they ask for, but do I ever see the appeal? No. I'm glad the ERA at least is putting it out there.
Still, you're right $5 is not very much, per person. But when you put the Emerson student body and their $5 together, it adds up to a substantial number that could be easily cut down by scaling back the event. Why an award DINNER? Why the Four Seasons? Why not leave a little more in the student activity fund pot? Why not a little modesty? Asking everyone for even just a quarter would still produce over eight hundred dollars.
I'm just wondering what ever happened to the satisfaction of a job well done?
I think I can answer a few of those questions. Granted, I didn't write the appeal, some I'm not the best person to be answering this, but I can try and guess the Committee's rationale by looking at it.
ReplyDeleteFirst question: the location. In previous years, the event has been held at the Marriott hotel. Renting the space costs more than $10,000 (I wish I had the exact number). ERA 2010 has reserved the Four Seasons for $15,000. I have been told by the ERA Committee this price is slightly more expensive than the Marriott (again, I wish I had the exact number) for a much nicer location.
Regarding the dinner: this is another point of contention, and I think the one (at least for me) that's been most confusing. Apparently, this year doesn't actually have a dinner. They cut it from the budget in response to student feedback.
Regarding the number of students that attend: this is another point in which I wish more students saw all the appeals that go through SGA. For the vast majority of the appeals, the percentage of the budget requested is larger than the percentage of the undergraduate population benefitted. For instance, last year, Casino Night asked for around $13,000 and expected 175 people to attend, for a budget-to-student ratio of 2.4%/0.5%. They ask for 2.4% of the budget to spend on 0.5% of the population. ERA is one of few appeals that flips that ratio, asking this year for 3% of the budget to spend on 9% of the population.
True, the event isn't directly academic. But academics aren't the point of SGA. Although I like to get all riled up about cocurricular student events, student organizations have a role in making time spent outside of class not only educational but also meaningful. AAF certainly doesn't need to print out plansbooks for everyone; we all have the PDFs. But the plansbook is validation of the "job well done" from which we all derive so much satisfaction. So are the hardcopies of EmMag, Gauge or Emerson Review. So is Casino Night and Senior Week, events that have absolutely nothing to do with academics. SGA funds need to be used to build community at the school, not just opportunities to gain lines in our resumes.
Okay, so let's examine this editorial, because you seem to be a little misinformed.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, calling this event a "party" is insulting to every campus organization president, member, and especially the ERA committee. A party is a social gathering you put together, usually just for fun. It's not all that important. ERA is 40+ year tradition honoring all of the student leaders at Emerson who have made immeasurable contributions to our campus. Calling it a party degrades what the night is all about.
The introduction about Haiti is dramatic and all, but lets be real. The money allocated for SGA funds can ONLY be used for student activities. Read the constitution.
This also applies to your comments about using the money to "improve student lounges... or defray the expenses of film students." This is irrelevant, again, because the money allocated for SGA appeals can ONLY be used for student organizations. Nothing else. Read the constitution.
Okay, so we all pay $80 a semester. But if you do the math that's almost half a million dollars. It's not like ERA is by any means going to bankrupt SGA. Also, plenty of other organizations have appealed for and successfully received SGA funds in the past for comparable amounts. Why is this such a fuss now?
Holding the event in the gym seems like a good idea, but unfortunately the gym doesn't come free. It's quite pricy. Also, holding the event on campus means Aramark MUST be used. As you may know, Aramark food is not cheap (nor is it all that good). In addition, using the gym would not be large enough to comfortably fit 300 people and also present a number of technical difficulties which could result in additional costs.
Programs are important for an event of this type. Frankly, I'm really impressed the ERA committee found such a good price for a 40 page program. Printing is generally expensive.
The presidents of all on campus organizations put countless hours and energy into the organizations they represent, and asking them to pay for an award to recognize their contribution to the Emerson community would be a little insulting. I think we can all agree on that one.
Also, $5 per award is a VERY reasonable cost, comparatively. Kudos to the ERA committee for finding such a great deal.
This entire situation really needs to be put into perspective. There are very logical reasons behind costs. For example, our president, Jackie Liebergott, makes over $615,000 a year. Before shouting and saying "oh my god that's nearly 20 times the tuition I pay!!!" consider that President of Harvard makes $775,00 a year, and the President of the University of Connecticut (a public state school), makes over $500,000 a year. That's right - when put into perspective, it makes sense. College president salaries are competitive and the pay needs to be high enough to attract talented candidates. Sure, we could cut the presidents salary in half and probably make a nice student lounge, add more study rooms, and buy enough ashtrays for every smoker at Emerson, but then she would leave and we would get an inexperienced president who would likely run our college into the ground. ERA has the potential to be a GREAT event, but by cutting costs even more than they already have and say, putting it in the gym or an even smaller on campus venue (which could not accommodate the number of people expected to attend, by the way), it ruins the night. Why do that when it has so much more potential?
How do you like them apples?
February 19, 2010
ReplyDeleteDear Emerson Students,
Due to the recent publicity of the Emerson Recognition and Achievement Awards 2010 appeal, in addition to the concern members of the student body have voiced in regards to the cost of the event, this official memo is being released with information that is valuable for the student body to know.
-All students pay an $80 per semester Student Government Association Activities Fee as part of each semester’s tuition bill.
-Funds from the Student Government Association Activities Fee are only to be used for SGA recognized student organizations and programs they sponsor. At the end of each academic year, leftover funds from these organizations are placed in the “SGA Pool Account” which has a sole purpose of granting funds to SGA recognized organizations if they appeal to SGA Joint Session. These funds cannot be distributed to any other departments of Emerson College including but not limited to financial aid, facilities, athletics, residence halls, or institutional advancement.
-The current balance of the SGA Pool account is approximately $136,000.
-Student organizations recognized and funded by the Student Government Association, in addition to the events and programs the organizations sponsor, are open to all members of the student body.
-If an SGA recognized and funded organization wishes to appeal to the Student Government Association for additional funding than the budget they were allocated for the academic year, the organization must contact the SGA Executive Treasurer to request an appeals packet. The packet must be completed and approved by the SGA Executive Treasurer and then put on an agenda for an SGA Joint Session meeting by the SGA Executive President.
-In the past two years the Student Government Association has passed appeals for other one night events such as the 2008 Casino Night ($14,372), 2009 Casino Night ($8,464), 2009 EVVY Awards Dinner and Awards Show ($14,000: on campus event), and the 2009 EFA Gala ($10,133).
-Per the SGA Constitution, the Student Government Association Executive President and Treasurer decide how the organization’s budget is utilized and the events SGA will cosponsor. This year, ERA was denied financial and organizational cosponsorship from SGA despite the Executive Treasurer’s support for the events’ SGA cosponsorship of $10,000.
-In the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 fiscal years, the ERA Committee was allocated a budget of $10,000 from the Student Government Association. For the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the ERA Committee was allocated a budget of $0 from the Student Government Association due to their lack of SGA recognition.
-If the ERA Awards 2010 Committee was given SGA support and cosponsorship of $10,000, the amount of this years appeal would be $6,257. This is $3,273.93 more than the 2009 ERA Awards appeal.
-The ERA Awards 2009 committee fundraised $4,000 for the event. So far, the ERA Awards 2010 committee has fundraised $6,512.49.
All appeals are heard during SGA Joint Session Meetings, which are held every Tuesday from 2-3:45pm (various locations). All students are welcome and encouraged to attend. To find out where each SGA Joint Session meeting is held, feel free to contact me and I will provide you with the location.
The ERA Awards 2010 appeal is going to be heard this Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010, location TBD.
Also, in an attempt to ensure this information reaches the greatest amount of students, please forward this to your organization list serves.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at SGA_Treasurer@emerson.edu.
Jenn Barry
SGA Executive Treasurer
Greg, John and Jared, thank you for writing in. Also, Jenn, thank you for posting the important info about the application process.
ReplyDeleteI strongly urge each of you -- and anyone else who feels strongly about this subject -- to submit a letter to the editor (up to 150 words; see our letters policy below the editorial in the paper for details) to berkeleybeacon@gmail.com or to contact Opinion Editor Steve Klise (stevo.ownz@gmail.com) if you wish to pen an oped (up to 700 words). Please contact Klise BEFORE you get to writing.
Also, you can contact me at christopher_girard@emerson.edu
And although this is outside my purview (I do not cover news), making yourselves available for comment is another way to be heard. Taylor Gearhart (taylorsgearhart@gmail.com) is news editor and Maria Chutchian (mchutchian@gmail.com) wrote and reported this week's ERA news story.
The editorial board perused the contents of the editorial and agree with all of its contents (see our editorial policy below the editorial in the paper for details). We left very little on the cutting room floor, so there's not much for me to say. It would be inappropriate for me to respond to your arguments without running everything by them first.
However, in light of a hypothetical follow-up story, we could write a hypothetical follow-up editorial, though nothing is certain and it is all private Beacon business.
I will, though, respond to Jared's claim that we made a factual mistake in calling for the $16,200 (minus the up to $5,000 we recommend be allocated) to be used on campus improvements, food for students and BFA film projects:
We meant that SGA could allocate the money to an organization and that that organization put it to use. We believed this much would be readily assumed. But as with any possible inaccuracy, the editorial board will convene and decide whether a correction is needed.
I thank you all for responding and look forward to a substantive debate of this issue.
Best regards,
Chris Girard
Editor of the editorial page
The Berkeley Beacon
Thanks Chris!
ReplyDeleteWith any luck, SGA will be having a discussion immediately following whatever outcome of the appeal to finally classify the ERA Awards. My understanding is that many of the traumatizing moments between ERA and SGA developed from an originating problem: ERA has been inconsistently treated as an SGA-recognized organization, a committee within SGA itself, and now an entity cosponsored by another group. So that we don't go through the same problems in future years, we've got to figure out just what ERA is, and what it is not. I'd be interested in seeing what the Beacon thinks it should be...