FCLC-The faces of students leaders at FCLC may be all too familiar. In fact, according to data provided by the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development, at least 10 students currently hold multiple club leadership positions on campus. Some hold as many as four and this does not include committees and other programs they may also represent. A concern for overextended students is raised, and with many of these student leaders also holding a seat on the Student Activities Budget Committee (SABC), the process of allocating funds is also in question, according to Danny Witt, president of United Student Government (USG).
"There needs to be more students willing to step up and get involved in their campus," said Alex Morr, FCLC '07. "What concerns me is whether there will be enough students in clubs to be able to keep creating a social atmosphere on campus." Morr is currently the vice president of USG, a chair on the Campus Activities Board (CAB), the treasurer of SPARC (Serial Programming to Advance a Responsible Community), the president of PARty (Peers Advocating Responsibility), a member of the Senior Week Committee, and because of his SPARC position, Morr also holds a seat on SABC.
According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the student body at FCLC is currently about 1,700. Information provided by the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development shows there are currently more than 30 clubs at FCLC, opening up more than 130 leadership positions. Approximately 89 names were reported to fill these positions, with 10 of them filling more than one. Some names were not reported and some positions are open, according to Morr.
With the same few students involved in multiple capacities, a major concern is the fairness of budget distribution among student groups. Budget requests for clubs are made to SABC, which votes on the allocation of funds.
According to the SABC guidelines in the student handbook, voting members of the Committee do not vote on budgets for the programs they are involved with. The Committee consists of 11 voting members and two non-voting. Current voting members represent somewhere between five and ten SABC-funded clubs collectively, according to information provided by the Office of Student leadership and Community Development. According to the SABC guidelines in the student handbook, voting members of the Committee do not vote on budgets for the programs they are involved with.
Witt, FCLC '07, said, however, "I would argue that the fact that everyone is familiar with one another on SABC has led to less scrutiny on budgets submitted by members of the Committee." He added, "It's more a matter of trust and routine than some kind of conspiracy."
But Keith Eldredge, dean of students, said that he believes budgets submitted by members of the Committee receive more scrutiny because those students are expected to know more about the budgets.
Dorothy Wenzel, director of the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development, said that an advantage that a Committee member who is active in a club may have is that they know what the Committee is looking for when considering a budget. She added, however, that other club leaders are invited to the Committee meeting when submitting a budget proposal to better present their case.
Budget proposals for committees such as Senior Week and Spring Fling are submitted to SABC by the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development. "I'd prefer those funds were accessed through Student Government," Witt said. "They are student funds and should be controlled by a group that is accountable to students; that office is not. But then again, student government is not currently structured to handle those events, because there is not enough student involvement to do so."
With the same few students controlling most student activities, additional concerns include the lack of diversity in the programs and the burnout of students who are overextended, Witt said. Along with being USG president, Witt is also a Resident Assistant in McMahon Hall and vice president and co-captain of the Soccer Club. "I would never say that these positions have negatively affected me," he said. "However, the strain on my studies and, at times, my sanity cannot be denied." Witt said that several students in recent years have been forced to drop their activities as a result of being overworked.
When it comes to the question of why more students are not involved, Tamara Shehadeh, FCLC '07, said that the fact that FCLC is a small campus with a large commuter population makes it difficult to attain the necessary number of active students. Shehadeh is currently the secretary of USG, treasurer of the Middle Eastern Students Association (MESA), treasurer of PARty, a Commuting Students Association (CSA) general assembly member, a Fordham Ambassador, and also serves on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Security, the Senior Advisory Committee, and the Senior Week Committee.
Wenzel said that she does not believe it is an issue of a lack of student involvement. "We have the same students who want to do so much," she said. As far as the impact on the lives of these students goes, "We are always encouraging of them to make sure studies are first," Wenzel said.
Shehadeh said she does not know how the issue will be addressed but that the way in which student leaders are recruited and the way in which they are shown appreciation needs to be drastically changed. She said that two events are being planned through the Student Affairs committee under USG that targets overwhelmed student leaders. "USG is trying to alleviate the pressures and the stress that come with being an overwhelmed student leader, but the change itself cannot come from USG; it needs to come from the top," she said.
The Office of Student Leadership and Community Development has sponsored a program known as FUEL (Fordham University Emerging Leaders) over the years that focuses on cultivating student leaders on campus but Witt says that to his knowledge, this program has not garnered much interest from the student body.
"I don't want to let students off the hook," Witt said. "I honestly feel that students could do a lot more to make our campus better."
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