Students took to social media last month to voice their frustrations after the University of North Florida’s Student Government approved a $110,000 budget for a high-profile comedy show, which is scheduled for later this month. SG’s President Michael Barcal and Vice President Ashlyn Davidson responded to students’ criticisms.
Students were concerned the show’s large budget would reduce the available funding for student services such as Lend-A-Wing and Registered Student Organizations. Some called for the money to be spent in other areas such as university improvement and housing.
According to SG President Michael Barcal, the $110,000 came from SG’s General Fund Balance, an account that contains surplus, rollover funds from previous years. This means the comedy show budget did not take away from funds already set aside for student services or RSOs.
SG’s financial code, Title VIII, defines the Fund Balance as a sort of savings account “generated through excess tuition hours and unexpended budget allocations.”
Title VIII also outlines what SG can and cannot spend their funding on in compliance with federal and state law. SG is not allowed to use its Activity & Service Fee budget on University construction or any “permanent structural improvements.”
“[The $110,000] wasn’t taken away from anything. It’s just leftover money that we have access to. It was never taken from any other entity,” Barcal said.
According to SG’s constitution, the General Fund Balance can be allocated freely anywhere SG approves. The General Fund Balance is separate from other departments’ budgets and other fund balances, which means none of the $110,000 allocated for the show was earmarked for any other purpose.
Former Senate President Pro-Tempore Alex Mendoza-Hernandez has been critical of SG’s budget appropriations. He claimed that more funding could be allocated toward Lend-a-Wing to prevent limitations on students’ use of the service and that RSOs should have more access to more funds. With this in mind, he believes that the budget for this year’s comedy show creates a bad look for SG.
“Seeing limits being put on RSOs that are run by students who definitely need the money and then students being limited to their access to groceries is also not something that is helping the campus,” Mendoza-Hernandez said.
“And on top of that, spending [over] [$]100,000 on another comedian to show up on campus is really just something that sounds like it’s not being thought out precisely the way that it should be.”
In addition to the upcoming comedy show, Mendoza-Hernandez claimed that SG spent more money on top of what was already set aside for last year’s Ozfest performances. Almost $300,000 was paid to T-Pain and Flo Milli, which Mendoza-Hernandez believes is a sign that the money has not been well spent.
“It’s very weird to see certain things being taken away and more money being controlled by SG,” Mendoza-Hernandez said. “And then with their control, they’re spending it in this fashion, rather than in areas that could really help the student population,” he said.
Former SG Senator Jalen Echenique, a senior majoring in Political Science and Sociology, believes that the money spent on the comedy show could have gone towards agencies and initiatives to improve students’ well-being, specifically for LGBTQ+, minority and veteran students.
Echenique has seen firsthand how beneficial these services can be for the student body. He was previously a part of the Quest program, an initiative created by UNF’s now dissolved Office of Diversity and Inclusion to help minority students.
Since Florida’s anti- diversity, equity and inclusion legislation has eliminated student services at UNF like the LGBTQ, Women’s and Interfaith centers, among others, he would like to see SG provide more support for UNF’s vulnerable populations. He also wants SG to pay attention to what other state universities’ have done.
“FSU, UCF— they have agencies similar to UNF, and some of their agencies are targeted toward queer students on campus, women and veteran students to be a more inclusive governing body for the student population… on their campuses,” said Echenique.
Both Florida State University and University of Central Florida have SG agencies dedicated to serving students on the basis of diversity and inclusion.
“Being a former member of two years, [SG] didn’t really prioritize that. Not to say a comedy show is like the worst thing in the world because it isn’t; I just don’t think at this moment it’s the best thing.”
In addition to fostering DEI on campus, Echenique worries that the show itself may contain offensive content.
“Comedians can make different derogatory jokes that may affect students and who’s to say that this comedian will agree to be respectful,” he said. “[They might make] a very inappropriate comment that may not only affect just one student, but multiple students here on campus.”
“Obviously, it’s a quote-unquote ‘a joke,’ but it can be taken very left-field and be perceived very negatively by other students.”
In light of the backlash surrounding the comedy show, SG has expressed a desire to educate the student body on the capabilities and limitations surrounding SG’s budget. Barcal hopes that town hall-style forums can help students understand the complexities of the budget.
“I was treasurer and I’ve worked with the budget before, and we’ve held open forums and town halls and I haven’t seen a large turnout, but we think this is honestly a positive thing at the end of the day because this gives almost a reason to host one of those and really educate students on what we can and cannot fund at UNF,” Barcal said.
“So, I think we’re looking to kind of put something like that together… just educate as many people as possible and get their feedback as well.”
Barcal admitted that getting students to understand the nuances of SG’s budget will not happen overnight.
“It’s a lot to take in all at once… it will take some time to educate everybody. It’s true, sometimes the average student doesn’t know what we can and cannot fund which I think we really need to fix,” he said.
SG Vice President Ashlyn Davidson said she’s committed to transparency and clarification regarding SG’s budget appropriations. She also hopes to educate the campus community on the issue.
“There is so much more to our budget… a workshop, an open forum… anything where we can speak and then students can speak to us,” Davidson said.
“Knowing exactly ‘what’ is confusing, what [students] don’t understand, what we need to explain better, what we need to do better as an organization to better serve students— it’s just all we really want out of this,” she said. “Just making sure students understand the budget. We just want to do our best to make sure we are actively giving out that information the best way that we can.”
The comedy show will take place Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Lazzara Performance Hall. SG has yet to announce a performer.
Davidson said she plans to include an open forum at the Osprey Involvement Center’s next General Body Meeting for RSO leaders and members to ask any budget-related questions they might have.
Barcal hopes to see more students attend Senate and Committee meetings in the future. The next Senate meeting is Aug. 23 at noon in the Senate Chambers, Bldg. 58E, Room 3200.
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