OUR OPINION: The student body president should veto the bill because spending limits are too high.

The Student Senate passed a bill concerning elections for Student Government elections Wednesday.

One of the most controversial part of the bill was raising the spending limit of the Student Body President to  $750, almost twice as much as the previous $450 limit.

Though it is reasonable to ask for a raise in the spending limit since it hasn’t been changed since 1999, raising the candidates limit two and half times last year’s is absurd.

Running for a position in Student Government shouldn’t be about how much money your parents and your friends are willing to dole out.

The election in itself is a big enough competition without money coming into play, and students shouldn’t have to worry about spending more or less than another candidate.

We encourage Student Body President Jay Dawkins to veto the bill so the Student Senate will write a new one raising the spending limit to a figure that is more reasonable.

The bill should include stricter limitations without pushing spending limits through the roof.

Also, in the last election, the candidates were the ones determining how much donations were worth.

This presents a loophole for the candidates to price their donations lower than they are really worth.

 We ask Student Government to check expense reports frequently throughout the election, since last year’s expense reports were turned in after the elections were completed, according to Dawkins.

We ask students to let their senators know their opinions on the spending limitations so they know what to advocate.

The Student Government secretary is responsible for posting legislation on its Web site, but has not posted the new sections of this bill.

Student Government should post not only this bill, but all pieces of legislation Student Government is considering online and keep it updated frequently.

How is the student body supposed to voice their concerns if they do not have a way to access the bill?

The changes we are asking for are in the details of the bill, not the core.

The spending limit of $750 for a student body president candidate is much more than it should be. We also ask that prices for donations be looked at more carefully in the future.

With the economy tanking and elections coming up, the last thing any aspiring Student Government candidate needs to worry about is whether or not he or she will be able to afford to run in the first place.