A conference room full of downtown students, most of whom were affiliated with campus recreation, burst into applause when the senators approved the budget that will prevent one of downtown’s most prominent student organizations from downsizing and letting new employees go.
“I’m overjoyed,” said campus recreation personnel manager Alan Hersh. “We got all the money we wanted and we don’t have to let anyone go.”
Hersh said in the meeting that if the motion was not approved, campus recreation would be forced to fire most if not all 15 new employees it hired this year, and many students voiced the opinion that as campus recreation has grown over the past two years so has the spirit of the downtown campus.
The proposed budget has been a controversial topic around campus, garnering support on both sides. It is easy to see why spending $45,938.10 of the approximate $70,000 remaining is a cause for concern among some, but many of the students who attended the meeting believe that campus recreation is an integral part of college life for downtown students.
Sen. Dustin Volz, of Barrett, the Honors College, one of the leaders in the effort to lower the proposed amount, ended up voting in favor of the motion to approve.
“Obviously, it’s not the outcome I wanted because I’m worried we might run out of money,” Volz said. “At the end of the day we had a good discussion. It was never about not giving them money, it was about what the responsible amount to give them was, and I think some people were confused about where we were coming from.”
Sen. Pedro Silva, also of Barrett, the Honors College, made a motion to amend the proposed amount to something “more reasonable,” but because he did not have an exact number to give on the spot, the motion was denied. In the vote, Silva abstained.
“I didn’t vote ‘no’ because I didn’t want to antagonize anybody, I just didn’t agree that the money was being used judiciously,” he said. “Everyone who went in there was adamant about what they wanted, as they should be.”
Avoiding antagonizing people has certainly been a problem in the past for some. After last year’s ASASUD presidential elections, relations between some Barrett students and some campus recreation students have been somewhat shaky.
“I wasn’t surprised by some of the hostility we received, but I was disappointed,” said Volz. “This was never about us against them because all we wanted to do was amend the amount.”
Most of the students gathered for the ASASUD meeting seemed to be there with the intentions of voicing their opinions on the matters at hand, rather than dwelling on the past.
One such person, Barrett student and campus recreation supervisor Anthony Reda, had plenty of reason to be conflicted. He chose to make his decision based on the growth he had seen in both campus recreation and the downtown campus as a whole.
“I’ve been working for campus recreation since last year, and the growth is amazing,” he said at the meeting. “The quality of games and officiating has improved dramatically, some of our best refs are new this year. To deny this budget would be a detrimental thing that would bring down this campus as a whole.”
Many others agreed, and the motion was approved. It was at this point that the tension receded a little bit, but after all the campus recreation supporters left, there was still work to be done.
The ASASUD Senate also approved the appointment of Erika Vera as a representative for University College. After sitting through a somewhat tense meeting, Vera said she was very optimistic about the effect she can have as a senator.
“I really want to make a difference for University College students,” she said. “I want people to see that University College students are dedicated to this campus.”
While many issues were resolved after the longest ASASUD meeting so far this year, questions still remain about the interaction between the different alliances within ASASUD.
Vaughn Hillyard, a journalism student in Barrett at the downtown campus, knows better than most the tensions that can manifest themselves at times, especially after being involved in the heated student presidential race last year. He expressed his wish for more cooperation between both sides for the good of the students of the downtown campus.
“Unfortunately, the divide among campus recreation and ASASUD took place again,” Hillyard said. “But it’s my sincere hope that both sides will become a little bit more reasonable with each other and realize that it’s not necessary to make the other side out to be the ultimate bad guys.”
And for all those concerned, the Strawberry Tilt-A-Whirl ride was also approved.
Contact the reporter at gbourgue@asu.edu
