Harry Blakeman (The Beacon)
By Harry Blakeman, Staff Writer blakeman15@up.edu
ASUP's pocket change could help bring big names or projects to campus instead of contributing to its endowment if UP's student body votes to support it in vote on the PilotsUP portal Feb. 5-6.
ASUP voted to approve a constitutional amendment to change how it handles money from student fees. The amendment would allocate more money for projects benefitting current students and less for long - term interests.
Since the resolution proposes a change to the ASUP constitution, it requires a majority of the student vote to pass. The administration already approved the measure.
ASUP spends its allocated funds on the Major Project Fund (MPF) and clubs. The funds that remain are deposited into the endowment. The interest on that money contributes more funding to ASUP in the long run. The measure proposes more money for the MPF, less for the endowment.
The resolution stipulates that 10 percent of the funds left over at the end of the term will still go to the endowment, while the remaining 90 percent will go towards the MPF. This resolution would put tens of thousands of left over funds directly into the MPF, which in the past has been spent on things like last year's Macklemore concert. But ASUP will get less money from the interest on the endowment.
Sophomore Quin Chadwick, an ASUP senator , believes it is the role of ASUP to provide for students now.
"I feel that students today would want to see their money spent while they're here - the students that are here are only here for the short-term," said Chadwick.
Chadwick believes that this resolution is the best of both worlds, as the 90-10 split would provide for marginal growth in the endowment.
Senior Corey Trujillo, who voted against the resolution thinks the Senate should stick to its original intent and look ahead, not concentrate solely on the present.
"Senate lives and grows with the University - we're here for students today and tomorrow," said Trujillo.
Sophomore senator Dorcas Kaweesa wants to inform students about the vote, since it is up to the student body whether the measure passes.
"Whether we revise it would depend on the students' decision," she said. "They'll make the choice."
