I am incredibly appalled over the USG’s recent decision to create a “scholarship fund” for themselves using money that is supposed to, and always has, gone to student organizations and activities.
I have always viewed USG as an extracurricular activity, similar to student council in high school and I have never been under the impression that people should be paid to participate in extracurricular activities. These activities are a great opportunity to build leadership skills, teamwork abilities and gain valuable experience that we will all use in the real world some day, and as much work as we all put into our extracurriculars, they are NOT jobs.
As a matter of fact, for nearly every other student organization on campus, students actually have to pay the organization to participate. Incentive to participate is great and all, but a student’s incentive to participate in USG should come from his or her own desire to help make the school a better place for all of us, and for future Pioneers. It should not be monetary.
If this new resolution is allowed to stand, we will get people who run for a position on the student government just for the money and not because they want to improve the school. I think USG is a great program, but paying our leaders will inarguably change the dynamic of student government.
I think that if we polled the student body, we would find that a majority of students would disagree with this decision. Of course, it passed when you put it to a vote of just USG senators — they are the ones benefiting. But I would rather have the money I pay into the student activity fee, which was specifically allocated for student activities, go to student activities. If I wanted to donate money to a scholarship fund for my fellow students, I would have done that. I don’t think this is a decision that should be left to 18 out of the 4,878 undergraduates at DU who all pay this fee and expect it to go where it is supposed to go – to student activities.
If USG does start to give scholarships to its leaders, however, it is only fair to give scholarships to every president and vice president of every organization. They all put in hours and hours of work and compromise things like sleep and sometimes even school work, to better their organizations. (I’ve watched the past presidents of my sorority put sweat and tears into bettering our house day after day, yet they still pay the same dues that every other member pays).
So don’t tell me that the job of the USG leadership is so hard that they deserve this money more than any other student, because being the president or vice president of any student organization is hard. The simple fact that the USG organization is the governing body of all other organizations does not entitle its leaders to financial compensation.
Like all students who participate in extracurricular activities, the USG senators ran for and took on their positions for the experience, the addition to their resume and, hopefully, a genuine desire to help our school. They should NOT get paid for this. Pay is for actual jobs, not extracurricular activities.
Further, it shouldn’t matter if there is a national trend; just because everybody else does it, doesn’t make it right.
On a final note, if USG hopes to keep the trust of the student body in student government, I would recommend not using our money to benefit yourselves, especially without the consent of all those who are going to be funding this. If this decision is actually implemented, you’ve definitely lost my trust.
Sincerely,
Adrienne Estes
Junior
