According to the UOG 2015-2016 catalog, each student is assessed a $24 student activity fee per semester.

With an anticipated 8,250 students who will be enrolled during the upcoming academic year, the UOG Student Government Association recently proposed their fiscal 2017 auxiliary budget proposal, estimating that $198,000 would be available from student activity fees.

This could beg the question—where does all the money go?

Part of SGA’s proposed 2017 academic year budget includes initiatives of $60,000 for sponsored activities, $35,000 for Enrollment Management and Student Services (EMSS) Division support, $20,000 for Charter Day and Blue Night, $20,000 for stipends, $20,000 toward clubs, theatre, and HR transfers, and $15,000 for leadership development.

The remainder of the budget is reserved for contractual services, supplies, equipment, uniforms, and utilities.

According to Jericho Tobias, UOG SGA president, “Sponsored activities include the Welcome Back event and spring and fall assemblies. Our main goal was to enrich student activities.”

Tobias further addressed that EMSS received about $45,000 last year but that was greatly reduced to $35,000 this year.

Dean of EMSS Michael Gunn, Ph.D., stated that EMSS will be evaluating next year’s budget to determine if money is being used to support students in the most efficient manner.

Gunn posed a question for the upcoming student government: “Are we really getting the right bang for the buck or could we get the same amount of input for $40,000 or $50,000 and provide a little more money to clubs and organizations?”

“Currently, we have funds available to support student organizations as well as to support significant university-wide events for students,” Gunn said.

Gunn further noted that the SGA budget serves three main purposes, including support student organizations, support university-wide student activities, and support SGA.

When asked how EMSS is supporting SGA with the proposed $35,000, Gunn responded that approximately $15,000 goes to recruiting materials, office supplies, computers, printers, and associated automation, roughly $5,000 goes into student support activities such as select student travel, and other student activity opportunities are about $7,000.

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SGA President Tobias encourages students to join UOG’s events, especially Charter Day and Blue Night because they are UOG’s two largest events and students help to fund them through student activity fees.

“We are very transparent. If you have any questions, come by the Hall. All of our documents are always free to see,” Tobias said.

Elected SGA officials and members of the student election committee receive $50 for each session or meeting attended and no more than two regular sessions per month.

Tobias also elaborated that the stipend account of $20,000 is split equally between Triton’s Call and UOG Fine Arts Theatre.

Students react

Mariah Ramos, a senior in communications and President of UOG’s Lambda Pi Eta said, “I think more money should go into student organizations since they help promote Triton spirit.”

Ramos feels SGA does a good job of engaging students in student activities. ”I guess they do what they can,” Ramos replied.

When asked if she thinks SGA does a good job of engaging students in student activities, Ramos replied, “I guess they do what they can.”

Because part of the student activity fees goes to the Theater department, Athena Meno, a senior double majoring in Theatre and English Literature, says that the money is very beneficial because theatre admission is free for students and help to cover costs for copyright fees and show supplies.

“I think they are doing a pretty good job. I’ve attended their Triton’s Got Talent, which I thought was phenomenally successful. They are doing a lot of work to bring in more students but I feel like there is just a little more outreach that needs to be done,” said Meno. “I know that they encourage the different clubs to attend their meetings but it would be nice if we had certain SGA members coming out to the actual meetings for the other clubs so that everyone is on the same table.”

Meno believes that SGA members who attend student organization meetings would create a more interconnectedness between the clubs.

Katherine Campbell, an undeclared freshman, further said she will be more likely to attend UOG events knowing that $24 of UOG tuition money goes toward those student activities from SGA and clubs.

“We are looking at for future expenditures as to whether an appropriate amount of money is given to student clubs and organizations as related to other student government activities,” mentioned Gunn. “We are looking at the most efficient way to use student government money to benefit the student body as a whole.”