Letter to the editor

Vice chair of organization upset over artist’s take on budget cuts

The cartoonist’s misconstrued depiction of the Allocable Fee Appropriation Board (AFAB) is just another saddening manifestation of AFAB’s biggest enemy: misinformation.

It is for this reason that this otherwise innocent satire now serves as a medium for emotions and logistics to become interchangeable after a seemingly senseless and unfair decision is made. University Theatre got severely cut in the first round of budget deliberations.

Campus media groups saw a reduction in what they’re used to getting. Clearly, AFAB doesn’t care about the student organizations they fund, just that they stay within budget.

Although that makes sense from an extremely naive and superficial perspective, dig a little deeper and find that University Theater, through an honest misunderstanding, had incorrectly told the AFAB that their organization violates Financial Paper 50.

After the truth came out, the AFAB happily provided the organization with sufficient funds in the second budget deliberations.

Keep researching and find that campus media is the only group that has a seat - a vote - on AFAB reserved specifically and exclusively for them.

This chair has sadly been vacant all year despite attempts made by the AFAB to get involvement from any of the campus media organizations.

Look at the budget and find that even after these outlandish cuts to campus media, they saw cuts approximately half of the average cut to every other student organization.

Lastly, AFAB holds the sign that claims that it will not work for student organizations.

Does the AFAB volunteer its time to develop orderly, fair and consistent policies and procedures for their own enjoyment?

They realize that this year was a near-impossible budget situation with a board in its infancy and gladly welcome your criticisms, complaints and concerns.

But for myself ( and I imagine this reflects the views of the other members of the AFAB): do not blindly acuse me of apathy.

I am not deserving of such an irrational insult.

Jordan Harshman
Vice Chair of AFAB