UA asks trustees for Gen. Fee breakdown

The Undergraduate Assembly last week voted unanimously to send a letter to the University Board of Trustees requesting a breakdown of the General Fee budget allocation. The letter was drafted by Wharton junior Steve Schorr, the UA treasurer, who has been investigating the issue for more than a year. Each undergraduate student pays almost $1,500 each year for the General Fee, totaling more than $25 million annually. "Although this fund is distributed from our money and for our benefit, students do not know how it is being spent," the UA letter explains. "In many cases students make requests of the administrators, but are told there just isn't enough money." Schorr, who is also a member of the Trustees Committee on Budget and Finance, plans to distribute copies of the letter to the trustees during next week's scheduled meetings. "We're asking the trustees for the information because it's clear the administration won't give us the breakdown," Schorr said. "We're hoping that someone will give us the respect we deserve." Schorr noted that over the past year, UA representatives have requested an official General Fee analysis from several administrators, including University President Judith Rodin, Provost Stanley Chodorow and Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum. "Despite these efforts, we? were never given a line-by-line breakdown," the letter states. "As a last resort, we now ask the trustees for this information." However, UA Budget Committee member and College sophomore Mark Sagat said he is unsure how the trustees will respond to the letter. "We don't know if it will work, but it's another avenue to pursue," Sagat said. "There's not much else we can do after this." Schorr said he does not know why the administration will not release a line-by-line breakdown, but emphasized that students have a right to know how their money is being spent. But Sagat speculated that there may be more to the issue. "It might not be as easy as giving us a simple breakdown of the budget," Sagat said. "There is a central budget and side budgets for the schools and departments which complicate matters."