Student Union

STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT JEFF NELSON:

Good afternoon—

Today I want to talk about our efforts in drafting the general budget, and creating a more sustainable campus.

First, Vice President of Finance David Cohen has been working extremely hard to create a budget that is transparent and responsible, for the upcoming year. David has met with various student groups and campus departments that will receive money in the general budget to ensure that they plan to use it responsibly in the best interest of undergraduate students.

Many students have given us feedback on the question of how much money Student Union should contribute to the Danforth University Center. On Monday at 2:30 PM, David and I will meet with Deans Jill Carnaghi and Jim McLeod to discuss this contribution and arrive at a solution.

After thist meeting, we will release the General Budget for public review at 5:00 PM. The budget will be available online at su.wustl.edu/GeneralBudget. We encourage you to read it and leave comments with your thoughts.

Additionally, we are proposing changes to the process by which speakers are funded. Please go to the Student Union website and read my blog post about this topic. Leave comments and let me know what you think.

In terms of making our campus more sustainable, I met with the student group Green Action and a couple of administrations involved with drafting the University's Sustainability Strategic Plan. The University pledged to release this plan this month, but will be unable to do so. In fact, the release of the plan will likely be delayed until October. 

While I and many other students are very disappointed that this important document has yet to be released, we understand that crafting a plan that is well-researched and comprehensive will takes time. With that being said, students must make sure that the University is transparent and accountable in finalizing this plan. 

Hank Webber, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration, will come before Senate on Wednesday, April 22nd. All students are invited and encouraged to attend and ask Vice Chancellor Webber questions about the state of the strategic plan.

In closing, I want to say that I am very pleased with the amount of discussion on the Student Union website. Our top priority is to sustain an open dialogue with students about the issues that affect us on a daily basis. Please go to the website and read what your representatives are up to. There are interesting blog posts about reducing line congestion in dining areas, improving student email and much, much more.

Thank you for your time and have a great day.

Attachment: 

12 April 09 General Budget and Sustainability.pdf