Student leaders at the University are criticizing a fee-funded UNC-System-wide advocacy group for ineffective leadership.
ASG is an organization that brings student body presidents and delegates from UNC-System schools together to examine important education issues and ultimately advocate for the students of North Carolina. It was created in 1972 and has been consistently running since then.
The president of ASG sits on the Board of Governors in N.C ., although they are not given the power to vote. They do have the opportunity to consistently speak with N.C . representatives about issues important to students.
“The effectiveness of ASG depends on the strength of the leader and their willingness to speak up and build relationships with board members,” Atul Bhula , current ASG president, said.
Every student in the UNC system who pays student fees gives $1 to the organization. This fee was created in 2003 to help smaller schools commute to ASG events, according to Greg Doucette , who served as ASG president during the 2009-2010 term.
“The fee was initially implemented to help the students at schools that could not afford to attend and participate in ASG events,” Doucette said.
Issues with the use of the fee began in 2005 and have continued since, Doucette said. Chandler Thompson, student body president, does not think the fee is currently being used in a way that benefits the students who are paying it.
“The idea of this organization could be very beneficial, but they need to be held accountable for the money being spent. The $1 student fee could be used in a better way,” Thompson said.
The total revenue brought in by this student fee, according to the official ASG budget, which can be found on their website, is $221,727. There have been no donations recorded, expense reimbursements or fees paid by the participants of the organization.
The fee itself goes to pay for things within the organization. The subtotal for personnel payment is $73,740.90, which makes up 33.3 percent of the total budget. This money goes to major student officials in ASG , such as the president, who is given a stipend of $5,500 for his work every year. There is also a professional staff, which has an office manager who receives a total of $49,615.90 after taking benefits and taxes into account.
Bhula says that being an official in ASG is equivalent to having a full-time job and does not think student officers are being paid enough for their work with ASG .
“I argue that this job is a full-time job. In my personal opinion, officers are not currently getting paid enough,” Bhula said.
According to the budget, $12,875 was allotted for special projects and advocacy, which makes up 5.8 percent of the budget. Ethan Harrelson , student senate president and member of ASG , says this money has helped universities start projects on campus such as WolfWheels .
“ASG has a lot of potential,” Harrelson said “It’s a big voice.”
Total expenses for ASG came out to $188,395.61 after travel, stipends for employees and general expenses were taken into account.
Doucette said the reason for the lack of effective use with the fee and with ASG as an organization in general is due to issues with leadership. He voiced concerns about the current agenda of ASG not doing enough for students.
“If you’re not doing something productive then people showing up are going to be pissed off because they’ll think you’re wasting students’ time and money. And they are,” Doucette said.
Bhula says ASG is making focusing on academics their first priority and is optimistic about the coming year. He also wants to make changes with how student fee money is used and plans to discuss it as soon as possible.
“It’s about the return you have on your investment. I have ideas about how to make that return higher,” Bhula said.
ASG has not yet held a meeting to discuss the coming year due to the hurricane. The organization had originally been scheduled to meet in Wilmington, but canceled the meeting upon hearing about the storm, according to Bhula .