With the distractions of the Swine Flu and ASUA $1 million concert disaster, as well as finals week and the mass exodus that follows, it would be easy to forget what is still on the table. Despite all the backroom and closed door meetings certain members of the AZ legislature have held, they still have not arrived at a consensus on the budget.
Fortunately, some TUSD employees - who had previously been given pre-pink slips in anticipation of budget shortfalls- are now going to be allowed to keep their jobs: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/292005.php
Although there was some collective relief at Gov. Brewer's indication that she planned to accept stimulus money (a condition of which is maintaining current funding levels for higher ed), it seems like certain legislators are strongly resisting one part of her 5 part economic plan: tax increases. Meanwhile, plans are being made to 'sweep' university funds back to the state government: http://www.externalrelations.arizona.edu/government_state_update.cfm
Once finals are over, take a moment to register yourself to vote in AZ if you haven't already done it. Then write a letter to your elected officials and demand that they represent your interests. Don't let the lazy days of summer turn into complacency.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Nationally Infamous
Everyone from the Desert Lamp to Perez Hilton is blogging on this one:
http://perezhilton.com/2009-05-06-jay-z-bombs-big-time-in-arizona
The Desert Lamp's take on the letter from administrators in support of Tommy Bruce in Wednesday's Wildcat:
http://desertlamp.com/2009/05/06/unpacking-the-cult-of-the-presidency/
http://desertlamp.com/2009/05/04/students-to-asua-wtf-wheres-the-funding/
http://desertlamp.com/2009/05/04/asua-as-chili-palmer/
ASUA called a meeting last night (with very little notice) and alledgedly didn't even bring up the concert during the whole meeting. Not talking about it won't make it go away, people!
http://perezhilton.com/2009-05-06-jay-z-bombs-big-time-in-arizona
The Desert Lamp's take on the letter from administrators in support of Tommy Bruce in Wednesday's Wildcat:
http://desertlamp.com/2009/05/06/unpacking-the-cult-of-the-presidency/
http://desertlamp.com/2009/05/04/students-to-asua-wtf-wheres-the-funding/
http://desertlamp.com/2009/05/04/asua-as-chili-palmer/
ASUA called a meeting last night (with very little notice) and alledgedly didn't even bring up the concert during the whole meeting. Not talking about it won't make it go away, people!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
This is not going to blow over
Did we go through all this to let ASUA's bad decision ruin our reputation? No!
Summer may be rolling in, but we can't let the heat erase the memory of what a fiasco has been committed by the ASUA. The $900,000+ loss is all over the news:
The Tucson Citizen reports that the ASUA vows more concerts will be held, despite this colossal failure:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/115859.php
The Wildcat examines the result of this disaster on Tommy Bruce's legacy:
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/05/06/News/Outgoing.Pres.Feels.Heat-3737237.shtml
A letter to the Wildcat in support of Bruce, and signed by President Shelton and various other campus leaders, actually gets its facts wrong:
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/05/06/Opinions/Mailbag-3737254.shtml
"President Bruce singlehandedly fundraised money to organize and rally over 2,500 students at the state Capitol in protest of devastating budget cuts. "
In fact, the GPSC provided half of the bus funding and was not even afforded the courtesy of being allowed to speak at the rally, nor were they given any credit by ASUA.
And the Wildcat calls it like it is, describing the concert venture as vainglorious and arrogant:
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/05/06/Opinions/Editorial.Asua.Vainglorious.Venture.The.Result.Of.Arrogance-3737249.shtml
Do you have something to say? You can anonymously e-mail Sally at sallygradstudent@gmail.com . We never reveal the names of our commentators.
Summer may be rolling in, but we can't let the heat erase the memory of what a fiasco has been committed by the ASUA. The $900,000+ loss is all over the news:
The Tucson Citizen reports that the ASUA vows more concerts will be held, despite this colossal failure:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/115859.php
The Wildcat examines the result of this disaster on Tommy Bruce's legacy:
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/05/06/News/Outgoing.Pres.Feels.Heat-3737237.shtml
A letter to the Wildcat in support of Bruce, and signed by President Shelton and various other campus leaders, actually gets its facts wrong:
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/05/06/Opinions/Mailbag-3737254.shtml
"President Bruce singlehandedly fundraised money to organize and rally over 2,500 students at the state Capitol in protest of devastating budget cuts. "
In fact, the GPSC provided half of the bus funding and was not even afforded the courtesy of being allowed to speak at the rally, nor were they given any credit by ASUA.
And the Wildcat calls it like it is, describing the concert venture as vainglorious and arrogant:
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/05/06/Opinions/Editorial.Asua.Vainglorious.Venture.The.Result.Of.Arrogance-3737249.shtml
Do you have something to say? You can anonymously e-mail Sally at sallygradstudent@gmail.com . We never reveal the names of our commentators.
$1.4 million disaster
Offensively known as the "Last Bash Platinum Smash", the ASUA's going away party has lost more money than any other student government endeavour at the U of A, as far as we know.
By now you may have read the AZ Star and Daily Wildcat articles on the $1.4 million concert that only brought in about $500,000:
Here are the highlights:
"All told, ASUA sold 6,100 tickets to the Bash and gave away about 4,400 tickets as part of marketing deals with local radio stations and newspapers [...] Roughly 1,000 tickets were given away to students who demonstrated the ability to sing a Kelly Clarkson song, or passed other tests administered on the UA Mall on the day of the show" (Daily Star).
"Nobody predicted the economy would be the way it is now last May," Bruce said. "The economy was getting worse, but we had already committed to doing a show" (Wildcat).
Keep in mind that the fee for Jay-Z was $750,000, and that this does not include the ammenities requested in his contract. Although Tommy Bruce blames the "economy" for the problem, the contract with Jay-Z was signed in March, long after the budget crisis was in full swing. Excuses, excuses. Bruce poses that this was all a learning experience. We here at Sallygradstudent learned that you can request to be exempted from ASA fees by applying at the ASA office in the Student Union so you can prevent more of your money from going to these schemes.
How is the university supposed to convince the state government that we need funding when our elected representatives to ASUA blow almost a million dollars in one night? This is a PR nightmare and while Tommy Bruce and many other ASUA members will be graduating and leaving next week, the rest of us are left to pick up the tab.
Some have suggested that the ASUA members be required to pay the money back before leaving, just like you can't graduate if you haven't paid your library fees. Others think that the advisors of the group (real grown-ups) should be held accountable for allowing such financially risky behavior in an economic crisis. Think someone should be called out to answer for this? Contact Pres. Shelton: robert.shelton@arizona.edu or better yet, call the ASUA office and give them a piece of your mind: PH: (520) 621-ASUA (2782), or an e-mail will do: asua@web.asua.arizona.edu.
When you're done with that, join this facebook group:
Boycott ASUA -- $1 Million Lost
(the picture on the right is from the facebook cite)
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