When I picked up the Nov. 2 edition of the Sun Star I picked it up knowing I was in for a treat, and hopefully one I would like. Unfortunately that was not completely the case.  I would like to start out by congratulating Mr. Nate Raymond for doing a fine job on his research. He was in and out of ASUAF for a week gathering information, and talking to many of its senators and ASUAF employees. There is very little to comment on in either of his articles, my only concern is with the ASUAF retreat. I am one of the four people planning it, and can guarantee it won't cost the entire amount.  Again, congratulations Nate on a job well done.

Mr. Robinson Duffy on the other hand should be ashamed of himself.  As I read his editorial I was extremely ashamed of the ASUAF-funded paper.  That's right your student government/association fees go to pay for this paper. How much of that fee goes to the Sun Star? Well, to be nearly exact $30, 257.50 a year. Oh and KSUA gets $116,707.50 and the concert board gets $64,837.50.  That leaves about $220,447 for all the other various things ASUAF does.  I'll give you a quick break down of what the rest of that goes to.  $6000 goes towards coffee, tea and hot cocoa, $5000 goes towards phones and fax $109,312.50 goes towards paying the many employees that keep ASUAF running.  $59,321 of that goes towards paying the salary and benefits of our full-time staff member.  ASUAF also has a budget line for Tutors.  That doesn't account for all of the money the Senate has control of, I know, but our budget is slightly complicated. 

As for the money the ASUAF Senate has allocated, I can't rationalize all of it, nor can I defend all of it, but I will try to explain.  I will take this expenditure by expenditure as mentioned in Mr. Duffy's editorial.  First lets take the "lunches for themselves," I can only imagine he is talking about the "Shake the Chancellors Hand Gig" which happened to have been for ALL STUDENTS, there were only three senators, and three executives who showed up, the rest of the participants were the Chancellor and students.  As for the "fancy dinners in fancy restaurants," where did that come from?  I went through the Legislative database and found no such expenditures, but rather two resolutions that cannot allocate money, the first failed by a vote of the senate and the other is still in committee, again neither of which claim to require or resolve to have "fancy dinners in fancy restaurants." As for spending $172 on Starvation Gulch, I can't imagine a better way to spend the money we have been "given" than on a campus tradition enjoyed by many students, certainly more than five students. Can you?

I am now to the point of speaking on leadership conferences. The first of these conferences should be the UAF Leadership Conference.  ASUAF was able to give 25 students scholarships to this Conference. Of those 25 students, 4 of them were Senators. Yes that's right, the numbers I've given you and the number Mr. Duffy gave you don't add up.  Mr. Duffy claimed only one senator showed up to the UAF Leadership Conference, when in reality four senators showed up, Senators Kelsey Hough, Brandon Meston, H.B. Telling, and myself; but only I stayed the entire time. 

So if Mr. Duffy got that one terribly wrong, what else was he mistaken on?  Well for starters the ill-fated trip to San Diego was to the SDSU Student Leadership Conference, not the Northwest Student Leadership Conference, that's a minor mistake though.   When the vote came last semester on whether to send people to the SDSU, I can proudly say I voted no. I thought it was a bad idea, I still think it's a bad idea and I most certainly think sending people to Portland for the Northwest Student Leadership Conference is a bad Idea.  I will be the first to apologize to the student body for the passing of SB 163-018 "Funding for Travel for ASUAF Senators to Northwest Student Leadership Conference."  I was not present at that meeting due to bad roads and a friends wedding.  However, my disgust in its passing was well known by Monday, and by Wednesday I had been in President Walkers Office trying to get him to veto it.

This long tirade brings me down to two things: Mr. Duffy, if your going to print something, even in an editorial, get your facts straight; and if you must print rumors then print the entire rumor. 

For further information about the happenings of ASUAF go to http://www.asuaf.org/stugov, or stop by the ASUAF Office and talk to one of your Senators.

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