Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Opinion

"Class in society is determined by voice." - Marshall McLuhan
We support the SGA's proposal to instate a stipend for the Student Government Association President to eliminate the current situation where, as President Andrew Friedson put it, "only the wealthy can run for [the] position."

The problem is very real: SGA Chief of Staff Daozhong Jin said she was approached by four students who were interested in running for the SGA president next year but were concerned about being able to afford holding office for the year, as it usually precludes the possibility of keeping a part-time job.

In yesterday's article, "SGA considers pay for president," SGA Speaker of the Legislature Nick Chamberlain said awarding the honorarium would depend on an evaluation of the president's job.

Accountability is essential to ensure the funds would not go to waste, but demonstrated financial need should be an important consideration in addition to performance evaluations.

Many of the recent SGA presidents have been students well-supported by their families and would not need an honorarium. Determining the financial need of the president could be a tricky task but could be accomplished in a discrete manner that would protect the president from public humiliation.

Friedson is poised to leave a legacy of fiscal fairness with his recent proposal to cut the SGA's allocation by 60 percent to $75,000.

While a means-tested and performance-based honorarium is justifiable, many would still object to the SGA's use of mandatory student fees to pay its president.

Currently, the SGA cannot realistically turn to outside fundraising, as any donations it receives are required to go directly to the student activities fees budget instead of being earmarked specifically for SGA expenses.

There has been past interest in creating an SGA foundation to support daily operating expenditures and honorarium. While raising an endowment large enough to achieve this end would take years, the outgoing members of this year's SGA should use the expertise contained within the group's extensive alumni network to file the necessary paperwork with the IRS to create a foundation before inauguration rolls around.

Policy: The signed letters, columns and cartoon represent only the opinions of the authors. The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Diamondback's editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor in chief.

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