Wright Quad executives criticized

Some Wright Quad governors have raised concerns about funding and parliamentary policies the Wright student government board of executives has employed this semester.\nSenior Joe Rossow, Wright-Dodds governor, said the board of governors has little say in how the Quad spends the more than $9,200 it generates annually from Wright resident activity fees. He said this should not be the case. To protest the problem, Rossow decided to stop attending the governor's meetings until things change.\nBut some other governors say the system is sound.\nThe $9,200 budget is split into two categories -- allocated funds and unallocated funds. The student government board of executives allocates $8,200 to different services for the Quad at the beginning of the year during budget meetings, including $1,800 for programs for Wright residents and $2,500 for an annual semi-formal dance.\nThat leaves about $1,000 in unallocated funds for the governors to grant to applicants looking for money to support their projects.\nThe governors approved the budget proposed by the executives at the beginning of the semester, but Rossow said the governors were not adequately informed to do so.\n"I don't know if at that point we knew that once we allocated that money we could never get to it," he said.\nRossow also alleged the executives attempted to manipulate the proceedings in order to garner support for their proposal.\nRossow said such a system is faulty because it does not allow the governors to redirect allocated funds. He cites the money locked into the dance as a chief example.\n"The governors board, who decide what happens to this money, cannot touch a single penny of this $2,500 once it's been allocated," he said.\nThe executive board reallocates excess money that remains from the budget into the next semester's account, said sophomore Rachel Vilensky, vice president of programming on the executive board. If allocated funds repeatedly roll over, the executives consider alternative directions for them, she said.\nRossow said many of the programs put on by the executives are an ineffective use of resources. He said most programs are intended to give students an alternative to partying, but there are more economically viable ways to do that, like cutting ticket prices for musical or athletic events.\n"Supposedly, (the $1,800 allocated to the board) is for programs that the executives put on," Rossow said. "But most of these programs draw very poor attendance and are very poorly advertised. So I guess a lot of that money goes wasted and unused."\nHowever, freshman Jessica Pearson, Wright-Rollins governor, said she disagrees with this statement.\n"I don't feel like it gets wasted," Pearson said. "I think they use it to the best of their ability."\nPearson said the executive board members serve as mediators for the governors.\n"They help guide us," Pearson said. "(The executive board is) a means of support for us, like if things are getting out of hand."\nFreshman Daniel Stanko, Wright-Hummer governor, said he feels confident in the decisions of the board.\n"I think on the whole, most of the programs we support deserve the money," he said.\nExecutive board President John Robbins, a junior, refused to comment. \n-- Contact staff writer Mike McElroy at mmcelroy@indiana.edu.