Letter to the Editor 1, 10/24/08

Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ Recently SGB has been the subject of criticism over one issue: funding…. Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ Recently SGB has been the subject of criticism over one issue: funding. When SGB denied funding for Donna Brazile, the complaint was that SGB didn’t approve spending. With SGB’s affiliation with USSA, the complaint was that SGB paid dues. We’ve heard the complaint before that SGB improperly allocates the student activity fee. ‘ ‘ ‘ In Giles Howard’s Oct. 22 column, ‘SGB is wrong for denying funding,’ Howard describes how SGB ‘dashed [his] newfound faith in its competence and usefulness’ when it denied $17,500 for Brazile. The degree of manufactured outrage was worthy of a Razzie Award. If Howard feels strongly, he should attend SGB’s meetings rather than summarize events from a meeting he didn’t attend on an issue on which he wasn’t even capable of getting both sides. SGB didn’t have any information regarding the reservation. Board members aren’t detectives; it isn’t their job to hunt down information that student organizations don’t provide. ‘ ‘ ‘ On his claim that Servedio’s words ‘will prevent the two organizations from cooperating,’ Servedio isn’t the SGB president and doesn’t control SGB’s relationship with organizations. Furthermore, Howard never contacted the SGB office and never attended Servedio’s office hours; rather, he e-mailed Servedio to produce a misguided column before deadline. ‘ ‘ ‘ To SGB’s detractors, there are two ways to shape the board regarding funding. The first is to run for the board. Because the deadline just passed, that opportunity is over ‘mdash; my apologies to Howard. The other is to vote for the candidates who represent you. One-sided, scolding columns only add fuel to the fire rather than come up with solutions. In short, if you are unsatisfied with SGB, then vote. Nikolai Condee-Padunov Public Relations Chairman Student Government Board