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Proposal to cap stipends
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by Natalie Rhoads
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
In spite of the Student Services Finance Committee striking down his proposal to cap student leaders’ wages at $1,000 during a meeting Monday, member Brad Vogel plans to keep pushing for a reduction in salaries.
The proposal was defeated in a 4-3 vote at Monday’s meeting. However, Vogel said he now plans to work with SSFC member Barb Kiernoziak to draft a new proposal to cap salaries according to a percentage of the organization’s total budget.
Vogel added it did not surprise him the proposal did not pass Monday.
“There are many members on the committee that have a different perspective than I do,” Vogel said.
SSFC Chair Janell Wise said Vogel’s proposal was not put on Monday’s agenda 24 hours prior to the meeting and therefore many members were not aware of it and did not have the chance to do their own research.
Although Wise said she agreed with the idea to cap salaries, she said Vogel’s particular proposal was not well thought-out or well researched. She said that due to a referendum passed in 1998, student organization members are paid $8.72 per hour and the Associated Students of Madison chair positions receive a stipend for the year. Wise added Vogel did not make clear whether he wanted to restrict the stipends that ASM members receive or restrict the hourly salaries student-organization leaders receive.
“It was kind of a misleading resolution,” Wise said.
Vogel said he used “stipend” as a general term, and SSFC members made an amendment to change the proposal to read as “payments,” meaning all student leaders would receive wages under $1,000 if his proposal passed.
A second part of the proposal that was confusing, according to Wise, was when the new wages would go into effect. Vogel said the proposal would have put a limit on the amount of money organizations can request during the 2005-06 year, meaning that amount would not be implemented until the 2006-07 year.
Associated Students of Madison’s Academic Affairs Chair Ashok Kumar said he opposed putting a limit on the amount of money leaders receive because he said this would drastically reduce the number of lower-income students who could hold these positions.
“Students would have to replace activism with a job,” Kumar said.
However, Vogel said this is “faulty logic” because by reducing the salaries of leaders, it would also reduce the fees students have to pay.
Wise said she supports reconstructing the way student leaders are paid and hopes people will continue to research the possibilities.
“I think a lot of people are committed to working on it,” Wise said, “and I encourage people to work on it.”
