The ASUW senate enters the month of March with a balanced budget for fiscal year 2024. At their annual budget meeting, the government body raised the controversial question of whether UW student representatives should be paid, and how much.
An amendment proposed by senator Langston Bouma led to a lengthy and impassioned debate.
The senator, operating under the legislative branch, proposed an amendment reducing senator’s collective pay from $76,180 to $0 and redirecting those funds to the ever popular Student Organization Funding Board.
“I feel paying senators, when they went for years without being paid and compensated, doesn’t make sense.” Said senator Bouma in defense of his proposal.
“I feel like it’s a poor waste of student fee dollars when that money could go to a committee like SOFB that directly donates back to students for events. I think it’s a better use of student fee dollars.”
Bouma admitted a moral opposition to compensation for ASUW senators who willingly sign on to represent the student body in the form of what is technically a student organization. In addition, he felt that the pay raise for senators of both the executive and legislative branches was inappropriate.
A chorus of support for senator pay then erupted in chambers over the next several hours as students spoke about pay. Points of accessibility and representation were brought forth by senator McLean.
“We are quite literally often working as employees, as voices for students, voices for students who are struggling with issues of food insecurity, finances, and tuition. Once all types of compensation for Senators goes away, it will only be people who can afford to come here and do this without any type of compensation for their time.” said the senator.
“Quite frankly, I do not want a student government full of rich kids, which is ultimately what this will become.”
Senator Ewalt and a host of others expressed that without pay, they would not be able to serve on ASUW. Ewalt spoke to the years of dedication invested in the senate work, and that without compensation he would be forced to choose between rent and food, or ASUW.
Restructuring ASUW salaries for the senators is an ongoing process as described by Senator Ewalt. The committee examining this issue seeks to find ways to make payment and budgeting more efficient, as salaries have only come into play in the last year.
In this section of discussion, First Year Senate Representative McGuire made a point about another issue of compensation, saying, “I’m not compensated for my time. I’m here from 5:00pm to whenever you guys leave. Often, I don’t have time to go and eat dinner at Washakie where I already pay for a meal plan. So on Tuesdays, I typically lose money.”
He continued, “At this moment in time, we are talking about a pay raise for Senators, while all attempts at any form of compensation for the first year of the Senate were slashed, completely removed from the budget. And I think it’s really easy to say well, no, we don’t want to reduce pay, because it’s, it’s your pay.”
“But I think making these bold claims of altruism, referring to how we have to how it’s our moral obligation, it doesn’t seem right, to not pay people for being here, when there are three people who are not being paid to be here sitting right in front of you seems invalid, insensitive and blatantly wrong and denial of our responsibility as a body that represents students.”
The majority of senators stood in opposition to the proposed amendment, feeling that senator pay acted as an incentive for higher quality work, enabled their participation, provided greater access and therefore more accurate representation.
Senator Colter Anderson, chair of the budget and planning committee and coauthor of the FY24 budget posited that senator pay could be reorganized in the future with the inclusion of first year senate, but that striking pay all together was not an appropriate solution to a burgeoning pay system in its first year.
Senator Schliebe expressed his neutrality on the issue, saying,
“I’m not necessarily for or against this. My only problem with pay doesn’t reward effort. I think what could be more beneficial is the possibility of going back to a scholarship process. I would love to see us reward the senators who do work harder, and who do put more effort in.”
Ultimately, ASUW voted not to pass the amendment, keeping their pay in accordance with the original budget. In coming weeks, legislation for a restructuring of senator pay and the brand new inclusion of first year senate pay is expected to be introduced to the body.
