By Kristen Griffith (Whetstone Staff Writer)

President Johnston reinstituted some student fees April 8 after student and faculty boards and committees protested the fees’ unilateral elimination by CFO Christine Gibson during a February Board of Trustees meeting.

Johnston met with student leaders and faculty advisers on March 27 to work out the details of the new policy, which guarantees student organizations’ independence and denies the administration control over the funds.

In the statement, Johnston guaranteed the money would go into separate student accounts and that it would “roll over” from year to year and not be used for other College purposes.

“Student Organizations receiving funding through this means will continue operations with the autonomy and independence they have had in previous years,” the signed statement said. “Funds distributed through the Student Activity Fee are designed for students to be the decision makers regarding the manner and use for the funds. The College administration will not inhibit the use of these funds other than necessitating that expenditures are legal and do not place the College at unnecessary risk or liability.”

The original policy had absorbed all student fees ($950) into general tuition, raising tuition by 2.7 percent this fall. At least $530 of the fees was supposed to have gone directly to independent student organizations. An analysis by SGA faculty adviser Cynthia Newton and Dean of Students Wanda Anderson discovered that only about $127.50 actually went to the independent student organizations, including the SGA, SAB and The Whetstone.

“Once President Johnston heard our side of the story, he reassured the SGA Executive Board that the activity fee would be protected,” said Savannah Durham, Student Government Association vice president.

Cheyenne Lazarus, student activities board (SAB) vice president, said she did not expect the return of student independence to come that quickly.

“I thought he would put up more of a fight, justifying that the policy the CFO made would work fine,” she said.

The elimination of the fees, which Gibson announced at the Feb. 21 Board of Trustees meeting, also bypassed several College rules and policies, according to the statements released by the SGA and SAB.

After hearing statements of outrage from student and faculty organizations, as well as two former SGA presidents, Johnston called the meeting.

Student representatives of SGA, SAB, and The Whetstone were invited to the meeting, along with SGA Adviser Cynthia Newton, Whetstone Adviser Victor Greto, SAB Adviser Elana Baukman, Dean of Students Wanda Anderson, and CFO Gibson. Neither Gibson nor Baukman attended.

The new student activity fee breakdown will be published in the College Catalog, the Student Handbook and the College website. Each fee will be specifically listed.

“This proposal is basically the money that was contained in the previous student activities fee,” Greto said. “$137.50 of the $265 that was specifically called a student activity fee never went to independent student organizations. It was false advertising.”

This agreement adds $2.50 to SGA’s account.

“I was happy once Johnston agreed to write a letter clarifying a new policy,” Lazarus said.

Both student leaders and faculty advisers were surprised that CFO Gibson did not attend.

“We had a conversation and she asked to be excused that morning,” Johnston said.

Durham said Gibson should have attended, despite the “tough situation” she might have been in.

“When someone holds that high of a position and creates a policy, they need to be present to stand behind it and justify,” she said.

Lazarus said Gibson was probably mad she was caught.

“She thought she would pull one over on us and act like [her policy] would benefit the student organizations when it doesn’t,” she said.

Greto said he was unhappy with Gibson’s absence.

“I am sorry that she could not find it in herself to talk to both students and their advisers to explain what her intentions were and why she did not consult any of us about the policy she was considering,” he said.

In the statement, Johnston said that the new policy “realigning the fees with the tuition was an accounting matter,” and had nothing to do with CFO Gibson.

“It came up as a means to make the invoice of the parents to be less complex,” he said.

During an earlier interview, however, Johnston said that Gibson “has seen (the elimination of student fees) succeed at other institutions. As chief financial officer, she knows she has a responsibility.”

SGA president Fred Sottnick said that none of Wesley College’s 33 peer institutions has eliminated student fees.

Sophomore representative Dru Sottnick said she did not believe that the change was only an “accounting matter.”

“An accounting matter as in they screwed up and needed to take more money from students?” she said. “Why don’t they take some of Johnston’s money and the CFO’s money, or stop paying Aramark $3 million?”

After reading the agreed-upon statement, members of the Student Media Board said they were worried about the wording in the statement’s second paragraph.

“The college administration will not inhibit the use of these funds other than necessitating that expenditures are legal and do not place the College at unnecessary risk or liability,” it says.

“The members said this language was too broad and might jeopardize the student media,” said Student Media Board chair Greto.

The Board suggested that the line, “Wesley College is committed to an independent student press, and the administration will not interfere with students’ free speech rights,” be added.

Johnston refused to add the suggested sentence.

Durham said she believes this will not be a reoccurring situation.

“I’m not sure the process that the administration took to establish the old student fees, but the activity fee is going through all of the right channels,” she said. “Language will be changed in all of Wesley’s official documents, and the policy will be approved by the Board of Trustees.”