The original version of this article contained information that was unclear and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
A work of art doesn’t have to have a specific or particular meaning. But a referendum seeking to fund the arts does.
A referendum on the ballot for the upcoming Undergraduate Students Association Council will ask students to approve a $1.55 quarterly fee to provide funding for arts programming put on by student groups.
The referendum, called “Arts Restoring Community,” is a simple, four-article proposal that students will vote on this May. It was proposed by the Cultural Affairs Commission and the Social Awareness Network for Activism through Art.
But the referendum is missing a clause that would ensure the money will go to students rather than the student government.
Initially, the referendum stated that projects and programs put on by the student government itself would be ineligible to receive funding, but groups affiliated with the university through USAC would still be eligible. However, at the suggestion of student government officers citing vague language, that clause was removed before the referendum was added to the ballot.
This makes for an interesting situation and, ironically, a more vague proposal.
Now that the article is gone, the Cultural Affairs Commission has complete discretion over where the money goes. That means a referendum meant to fund student groups could instead end up padding USAC budgets.
As per the election code, it’s too late to change the language of the referendum before the upcoming vote. But if the students behind the proposal want to see it pass, they need to assure their peers that the funds go where they’re meant to.
As of now, students pay $40.82 per quarter in USAC fees. The fee increase the referendum is proposing pales in comparison, but USAC offices, which already have a good deal of institutional funding, shouldn’t be allowed to access additional funds supposedly earmarked for student groups.
The idea behind the referendum is simple enough: The additional charge on your bill will go to student groups to fund things such as art exhibitions, musical performances, open-mike events and anything else that falls under the umbrella category of the “arts.”
Since arts initiatives are often program-based, they are hit especially hard by rising programming costs. The added required amount could be the stable source student groups need, said Carlos Quintanilla, a third-year history and environmental science student and the finance director for Social Awareness Network for Activism through Art.
The problem with the referendum doesn’t lie in its objective; the arts should be given the resources to thrive on our campus. It lies in its language, or more accurately, its lack of language.
Quintanilla said that the missing article could allow future councils the flexibility to determine what constitutes an affiliation with USAC. A compromise was needed for the referendum to be placed on the ballot, but the compromise deals a heavy blow to the potential success and effectiveness of the initiative.
Ultimately it is the students’ choice whether or not the referendum is important enough to pass. After all, the referendum is being proposed for the benefit of the students. USAC did the right thing by allowing the referendum to be included on the ballot; the louder the student voice, the better, in this case.
But provisions should have been made so the referendum that we see on the ballot in May clears up these potential problems. The language of the referendum, namely the now-absent fifth clause, has created artificial obstacles to what is a good idea at its core.
In the absence of that language, the students that will be pitching the referendum need to promise the funds will go to student groups, rather than the student government. A promise, while not as binding as referendum language, is a good start.
For their part, the candidates for office – or at least those who claim support for the referendum – should echo that promise.
Funding the arts is a necessary and desirable goal. But this referendum does so with broad strokes, rather than fine lines.
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Clarification: Undergraduates pay $40.82 in USAC fees every quarter.