Activities fee will improve quanity, quality of programming on campus

Dear Setonian,

I was very disappointed to read your staff's reaction to the proposed Student Activity Fee in this past week's "Voice." As an education senator on the Student Government Association, I attended the meeting in which Dean Van Norman made a presentation regarding the proposal and her research that accompanied it.

Firstly, Dean Van Norman should be applauded for her energy and willingness to listen to students' opinions. A common complaint on this campus is that administrators do not care what students really think, but Dean Van Norman and the Office of Community Development consistently make an effort to reach out to students. Her proposal was not made in haste but rather with the input of a number of people and after extensive research on the topic.

Secondly, I support this initiative in my roles as both a senator and a student in the College of Education and Human Services. The increase in budget will affect not only SAB and SGA but every student on campus as well. What some people fail to recognize is that when money is poured into the SGA account, every club under our umbrella benefits.

So while some people may feel that this money is "wasted" going to only those two organizations, that SGA money will be distributed into more direct club allocations, more money available in the finance committee, and more money to be dedicated to fall and spring programming. Hence, any student in one of these clubs – or any student that attend their events for that matter – will benefit.

Thirdly, I think SAB deserves a lot of credit for their work this year. They take a small budget and stretch it very thin so as to provide a large number of activities. While it seems that The Setonian is only interested in having a concert (and hey—SAB has plans for that), I strongly believe that other trips and activities will, in fact, be part of a larger answer to general student apathy. Part of Dean Van Norman's research presented at the meeting included a direct correlation between student happiness at the university and quality of student life activities.

This increased budget will have a huge impact on not only the quantity of student activities, but the quality as well. Money appropriated in this case to SAB and SGA is a solid investment for all Pirates in the Seton Hall community.

Respectfully,

Moira Kelly

Sophomore, Elementary and Special Education Major

Education Senator and member of the Student Life Committee, Student Government Association

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