Students and Faculty Fume about CFO’s New Policy

By Kristen Griffith (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Many students and faculty reacted negatively to the news that Wesley College Administration may be eliminating student fees, which in part support independent student organizations.

Sophomore Chanel Gray said she would leave Wesley College if the new policy of eliminating student fees went into effect.

“Who are you to tell us where our money can be spent,” Gray said. “I feel as though the students have no control. We give the school all this money and we don’t actually know where it’s going.”

SGA Vice President Savannah Durham said there was nothing wrong with student fees.

“The majority of institutions, and institutions like Wesley, have separated student fees from tuition,” she said. “The practice of putting everything into a general fund is not a common one.”

Senior Orlando Rodriguez said it would have been best to keep things the way they are.

“The students are not going to respond well to this and I don’t think it will sit well with faculty either,” he said.

Dr. Anthony Armstrong said this new policy has no purpose.

“I think the elimination of fees has no merit whatsoever for the welfare of the college, and that the stated purpose of better serving parents is false,” said Armstrong, professor of political science and chair of the history program.

Dr. Jack Barnhardt, psychology professor, said it’s not difficult to come up with other solutions that don’t hurt the college.

“It’s very unfortunate these other options weren’t explored the way they should have been,” he said. “And the parents are not idiots – raising tuition to compensate for the removal of fees isn’t going to make them feel like they’re getting a better deal.”

Sophomore Adrianna McAdams said the new policy is not fair to students at all.

“It’s taking away the choice of where the funding goes just to please parents, when we have to pay the fees anyways,” she said.

Armstrong and Stephanie Malakuskie, junior RA in Malmberg Hall, believe the administration’s excuse that parents’ complaints about student fees drove its decision is a poor one.

“This was done to please our parents but the fact of the matter is that they don’t have to live here and they are not the ones who suffer from this decision,” Malakuskie said.

Armstrong said an outside source said parents only call to ask what a certain fee is for, not to complain about paying for it. He also said Gibson’s claim that putting fees into tuition would increase student aid is false.

“We have learned from an outside source that all direct costs which include fees are eligible for student aid,” he said.

Armstrong said when fees are collected, businesses have a legal obligation to use that money for its advertised purpose.

“Ms. Gibson had claimed that there is no such legal obligation, but she is wrong,” he said.

Armstrong also said the new policy threatens the necessary independence of student organizations and the empowerment mission of the college.

Malakuskie said the new policy gives  administration power to hide stories from The Whetstone that the student body needs to know about.

“Organizations like SGA and The Whetstone where the student voices are heard are virtually pointless now,” said BreA’na Morganfield, a sophomore RA in Carpenter Hall.

“These organizations help students build resumes and teach responsibility and organization,” said Malakuskie referring to the importance of The Whetstone and SGA.

Ron Douglas, assistant professor of multimedia communications, said the new policy affects WXStream, the College’s radio station.

“The radio is uncensored after 10 p.m.” Douglas said. “It is the students’ business on what content they want to put on the radio. If they [administration] do not like what the student is saying, the CFO can take away the funds.”

Douglas said the new policy removes an important part of student education: the power for them to make their own decisions.

Durham said this new policy affects SGA, The Whetstone, and the Student Activities Board directly.

“[SGA, The Whetstone, and SAB] all function around the needs of students,” Durham said. “This policy would strip all autonomy from these entities and place everything under the discretion of the CFO. Quite frankly, she does not know the needs or wants of the students at Wesley College.”

Dr. Jessica James, adviser to the Black Student Union, said distribution of funds has been problematic for several years.

“The funds were not released to students until well into October, which made planning activities in the fall semester a real change,” she said.

Having everything under the CFO’s control could result in fewer activities on campus.

Junior Patrick Wittle said this could lead to organizations shutting down.

“None of these organizations would be as enjoyable or even student-friendly if Wesley did this,” he said.

“Without activities students will not come here, it is as simple as that,” Morganfield said.

Gray said parents want their money to go towards activities.

“Most of our parents pay our bills and they want to see their money go to better their child and their experience,” Gray said. “My parents are paying for me to have fun, experience new things and learn. The experience part is being taken away.”

James said higher education research show activities on campus benefit students.

“Students persists when they become integrated into the life of the campus,” she said. “If those opportunities are reduced or diminished, then we may have difficulty retaining students.”

Gray said the students should have a say where their money goes.

“There should not be just one person in charge of the money,” Junior Kia Smith said.

English Professor Susan Bobby said she is upset for the students about this whole situation.

“I don’t blame the students who are up in arms about this issue,” she said. “They work hard, and put a lot of time and energy to produce quality programs and events.”

Dr. Brantley Craig, assistant professor of religion and literature, said he also understands students’ frustration.

“Part of what concerns me is the message this decision sends to students, and I don’t blame them for not trusting the administration anymore,” he said.

Bobby said faculty has a responsibility to support the student organizations.

“We want the students to be involved right?” Bobby said. “Well if this is the way that big decisions like this are made, then I can assure you they will not.”

This new policy came as a shock because the decision was never discussed among students and faculty.

“She should have talked to organizations before placing in a new policy and breaking the old policy,” McAdams said.

Dr. Linda De Roche, faculty liaison to the Board of Trustees and professor of English and American studies, said there was never any discussions about how this decision would affect students.

“Dean [Wanda] Anderson and Professor [Victor] Greto were blindsided by this decision,” she said. “They were completely unaware and should not have been.”

De Roche said the way Gibson went about this new policy was flawed from the beginning.

“She [Gibson] did not consult with the people she should have,” she said. “This would have avoided all of the issues we are currently facing.”

Craig said this decision should have been communicated with Wesley since it affects everyone in the community.

“A silver lining to this whole situation would be that it gets the students thinking, talking, and asking questions about trust, honesty, transparency throughout the college population,” he said.

De Roche said managing money is too important of a skill for students to lose.

“Managing budget is a skill that is applicable in the real world,” DeRoche said. “ Students are expected to make mistakes and be responsible with their money.”

Students and faculty said fighting this policy is the only option.

“We as a college need to come together and stand up for what’s right,” Gray said.

Durham said she believes students are capable of making a change.

“This is the only positive take away I can see from this new policy – students coming together to fight and change something that we all feel so strongly about,” she said.

Armstrong said he fought many battles here at Wesley for more than two decades.

“It starts with getting allies, informing faculty and students, planning resolutions, planning protests at the college and through the media, and lobbying any other group that might help us pressure administration and the board to do the right thing,” he said.

Dr. Kathleen Curran, professor of biology and chair of the biology department, said student organizations are off to a good start fighting back.

“They have a right to do it,” Curran said. “It is the only way to tell administration how they feel about it.”

The SGA Executive Board sent out an email to faculty and staff with an attachment of seven different documents in response to Gibson’s policy change on March 18. These statements spoke of broken violations and the unpopularity of the new policy.

The email included statements from the American Association of University Professors, SGA Adviser Dr. Cynthia Newton, SAB, SGA, the Student Affairs Committee and the Student Media Board. A list of Wesley’s peer institutions that have separate fees and tuition was also included in the emails attachment.

Whetstone reporters Ashly Bendorovich, Rose Bondoe, Alainna Earl, Adriane Fraser, Cheyenne Lazarus, Evan Le’Mon, Kennard Squirrell, Emily Temple, Demetrius Trisvan, John Wolgamot, and Kenneth Young contributed to this report.