A student leader with the Multicultural Student Center burst into tears as she walked out of an SGA committee meeting Friday afternoon, devastated over a surprise budget slashing to a MSC funding board dedicated to minority student groups.
UPDATE: READ NEW STORY HERE — MSC PLANS TO FIGHT BACK
The MSC funding board’s entire budget was zero-funded during the Activity and Service Fee committee’s meeting, after SGA Comptroller Shane Chism levied the motion to ax the board’s budget — even though others pointed out nobody from MSC was present or knew this was coming.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svSY13Qf48o
SEE MORE VIDEO OF THE MEETING, INCLUDING THE VOTE, BELOW.
The motion failed at first, because members of the committee wanted someone from MSC to be there before the vote took place. Chism said he voted to cut zero-fund the board without the group being present because outside groups should not affect voting, and called the MSC’s board “meaningless, bureaucratic nonsense,” according to eyewitnesses at the meeting.
After Chism’s initial motion failed by a vote of 1-10, Sen. Katie Celano announced her intentions to reconsider her vote, and then the committee recessed. Two members of the ASF committee were seen walking to the MSC’s office in the Union during the recess. The rest apparently went to buy food.
A member of MSC was eventually contacted, and with a few minutes notice rushed up to the ASF committee to try and defend the surprise budget ax.
She came close to saving it, but in the end she was one vote shy of stopping the cuts. By a vote of 6-5, the funding board’s budget was slashed to zero. The vote was taken even though Sen. Jereme Pozin objected to voting so quickly, because other senators wanted to speak on the issue.
Sen. Gurney and Vice President Andrick Lewis were among the committee members leading the charge to fight for MSC’s budget. Chism and Sen. Celano were among those fighting to cut it.
Chism declined KnightNews.com’s request for comment at the meeting. MSC members, who still appeared shaken up, declined an on camera interview, but said they may write an e-mailed comment soon.
A HISTORY OF CONTROVERSY
The ASF committee has been a controversial issue since the 2010 presidential race, when candidates Daniel Seeff and Kevin Wolkenfeld announced their disapproval over a campaign video about how the committee decides much of the $15 million budget over Winter Break when students are kicked out of the dorms, over a catered buffet-style lunch paid for with student money.
Wolkenfeld was present for today’s meeting, and reiterated to KnightNews.com why transparency is important after the zero-funding vote against MSC’s funding board passed.
“If the Central Florida Future and Knight News had not been there, this (cut) probably would not have been known until after the ASF (budget) was passed,” Wolkenfeld said. “I appreciate the media getting involved in student government.”
Wolkenfeld also praised SGA President-Elect Mike Kilbride for his stance during the debate on the MSC funding board budget cut. Kilbride had expressed how it would be disrespectful to zero-fund the group without its board being there to defend itself.
This is the first year, at least in recent memory, that the ASF budget process has undergone such intense media and public scrutiny so early in the year.
ATTORNEYS INVOLVED IN FIGHT FOR ASF RECORDS
Last month, KnightNews.com uncovered the first details of the $15 million ASF budget and how those sitting on it were appointed there through a public records request. SGA fought KnightNews.com all the way to Tallahassee in an apparent attempt to block the budget’s release before the 2010 SGA presidential elections. It ultimately took help from an attorney from Florida’s Board of Governors, which oversees the entire public university system, and a threat of legal action to get SGA to release the budget spreadsheet.
KnightNews.com’s attorney, Benjamin Mayer, has been discussing our access to information and ability to cover news with UCF Associate General Counsel Youndy Cook. Early talks indicate that KnightNews.com is able to gather news outside the “Free Assembly Area” and that it was an apparent mistake on the part of whoever told KnightNews.com crews to stay away from the Union Stage during elections coverage.
Although that issue seems resolved, KnightNews.com’s dispute over public records — including the ASF budget request packets — is still being worked out. UCF has already released audio recordings of prior meetings as well as minutes, and KnightNews.com is still reviewing them. The budget request packets have not yet been released, because KnightNews.com does not want to pay UCF a fee to black out the names of student leaders on the ASF budget request forms.
UCF claims privacy laws called FERPA prevent them from releasing those documents. However, Frank Bracco, who is suing the University of Florida over its Student Government’s refusal to release certain records, says UF never blacks out names of student leaders on budget requests.
Republican candidate for Florida Governor, Paula Dockery, is trying to push through legislation which would create a new Open Government Act in Florida, and make it harder for entities like UCF and SGA to charge high prices for records.
Officially known as Senate Bill 1598, the bill would combine open meetings and records law and forbid governments from assessing ridiculously high fees for records, require Sunshine Law training for non-elected and elected officials and toughen the penalties for officials who refuse to give up public records or open public meetings,” according to the Palm Beach Post.
KnightNews.com will follow the ASF funding cut controversy, as well as the Open Government Act as part of our continued coverage of Our Fight for Free Speech.
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