It's insulting!  Who do they think they are?  Do they realize whose money they are wasting?

It's my money, it's yours, and our ASUAF senators are squandering it.

These 17 college students, many of who weren't even elected by the student body, but rather appointed by President Walker after the election, are solely responsible for spending our student government fee however they see fit.

$221,305.  That's how much they got from us this semester.  It's a lot of money, and it's supposed to be used to improve our college experience.

It seems that their idea of improving our college experience includes lunches for themselves, weekend retreats, fancy dinners at fancy restaurants, t-shirts for non-students, plaques for non-students, a bonfire for starvation gulch (they literally burned $172), and vacations to Portland for a few lucky senators.

Oh, I know Senator Telling's bill to allocate $2510 for four senators to travel to a leadership conference in Portland, including airfare and three nights in a hotel, does not use the word "vacation," but let's be honest.

The bill states that "in the past some members of ASUAF have found the Northwest Student Leadership Conference to be of great value."

I bet they have.

Last year the conference was held in San Diego.  As I look outside at the blowing drifts of snow I definitely see a value in an all-expense-paid trip to Southern California.  The beaches, the sun, not to mention the proximity to Mexico, which the Senators who went took full advantage of.

And the conference?  The reason they were spending our money?  Oh, you know, they skipped sessions and complained that the ones they did attend weren't really that great.

But they found the trip to be of great value.  Telling, one of the Senators who went, said so.

And I'm sure the Senators who go to Portland will likewise find it of great value.

I just hope the senate realizes that they are being watched.  People are noticing their use (read "misuse") of money, and not just the student newspaper.  There is a rumor going around that a certain high-ranking official in his first year here at UAF (of the Chancellor breed) wants to take away ASUAF's money--he doesn't think they are spending it wisely.  If they don't want that to happen, they probably shouldn't give him any more examples.  They should stop and think before they spend money on themselves.  They should ask themselves some very important questions.

Here's one for starters: If leadership conferences are so important and of such great value to our student leaders, why did only one senator attend last month's leadership conference held right here at UAF?  What makes the Portland leadership conference so much more valuable than one in Fairbanks?

I think I know the answer.

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