03/27/2017
Dear Cult. members, Hunter Students and Friends,
USG President Matthew LoCastro has proposed a referendum, unbeknownst to us (the Media Outlets), to restructure our Student Activity Fund (SAF). This will cut our budget, which we as students all pay for. The reasoning behind this proposal is to fix the increasing surplus every year from SAF; Hunter College has been flagged by CUNY because of these surpluses. But this proposal fundamentally misrepresents the struggles of our institutions. We all want to spend the money allocated to us, but we face obstacles from the bureaucratic process, which has consistently been unclear. So, rather than addressing the real and essential problems with the bureaucratic process, USG wants to “throw the baby out with the bath water” and cut our budgets.
USG is proposing to cut the Media Board’s budget by a whopping 65%. If this drastic cut is approved, most of the publications will have to shut down due to lack of funding. We were never spoken to regarding the needs of our institutions, and so conclude that such severe cuts are the by-product of lack of communication and unwillingness to commit to transparency from USG’s end.
The cut is just not for Media Board but also for all other student-run earmark institutions and clubs. The potential damage to our student life at Hunter is significant. We must fight this unjust and ambiguous referendum. Matt and other USG personnel are informing Hunter students about the positive and necessary goals of the referendum, such as increasing accessibility of menstrual products for students. But other details have been omitted. They are proposing cuts but they are not sharing that with anyone. This is completely misleading and immoral. Hunter United ran for USG on a platform of transparency but it’s obvious that they do not plan to live up to that promise.
Share this post everywhere. Talk to all your friends. Tell them not to sign the referendum. If you or your friend has already signed, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSec8zoVgX_whudZPNCu5xsOm9RUYpAnz1hFLwK2ssg-JF1Q5A/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=send_form and submit the form. We will let Matt know to take your name off the list. You should also email Matt at [email protected] to let him know that you are not pleased with his leadership and lack of transparency.
Support Hunter and its Student Organizations. We exist to serve you, but at this moment we need your support. Please SHARE & SPREAD the word!
USG President Matt wants to cut all clubs and student run undergraduate institutions' budgets. He says he wants everyone to get Menstrual Products, but the devil is in the details. You can find more details here: Fill this form out and we will let Matthew LoCastro know on your behalf that you are no...
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