I tie. Cooto^iMCb ^owwxxZ
Volume XII; Number-19
TJie Student Newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
January 25, 1977
Who controls activity fees?
By Steve Bass
Students often wonder where their
“student activity fees” are spent, and
more importantly, how they are
allocated and accounted for. The process
is mainly a political one dictated by
student interest groups and personalities.
However, according to the student
constitution, the student group in charge
of the hearings and accountability for the
funds is the Student Fees Commission.
At this point, a brief diversion may be
necessary to help the -reader understand
the make-up of the Student Association.
Organizationally, there are three divisions
of the Student Association: the Student
Government Association (SGA), the
Student Media Board (SMB) and the
University Program Board (UPB).
Specific duties are carried out by. each
division of the Student Association. For
instance, the SGA runs the court system
and allocates money to all chartered
organizations and clubs. The UPB is
responsible for all campus-sponsored
University entertainment including the
Rathskeller. The SMB is responsible for
overseeing the activities of the medias,
and allocating money for the medias. All
three organizations are structured under
the general heading of the Student
Association:
The duty of the Student Fees
Commission (SFC) is to hold hearings
with representatives of the Student
Association and student interest groups
to make the initial allocation of student
fees. (For instance, the SFC makes a
lump sum allocation to the SMB which in
turn allocates the money between the
various media.) Under the rules of the
SFC, the body is also in charge of
reviewing and accounting the
expenditures and revenues which they
have allocated.
To insure impartiality and equal
representation, the SFC is composed of
two representatives from each of the
divisions of the Student Association and
three representatives from the student
body at large.
Currently, the SFC has recently
received notification from the office of
UNC president William Friday, through
his assistant Dick Robinson, that the
ultimate responsibility for all student
fees lies in the hands of the chancellor.
According to Dr. Douglas Orr, Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs, this was
designed for a simple reason. “Ultimately
one individual must be responsible for all
activities and actions on a campus. This
individual must be accountable to the
taxpayers of the state, whose money we
are dealing with.”
The recent memorandum from
Robinson was in response to a letter
from Orr concerning the status of a 1971
memorandum from Friday’s office.
Michael Evans, chair of the SFC, says
that all SFC policies have been made
within the guidelines and regulations set
forth in the 1971 memorandum, calling
it the commission’s “gospel.”
With this in mind, the UNCC
administration is concerned that the
present system (underwhich the SFC is
responsible for reviewing and auditing
the accounts of the Student Association
divisions) does not provied adequate
accountability for the chancellor. E)r. Orr
says, “The basis of the concern is not an
indictment of the Student Fees
Commission as much as recognition of
the fact that there is not a standard
accounting procedure within Student
Goverment. Some organizations of the
government have excellent systems of
accountability, some do not. If creditors
or interest groups come to Dr. (D.W.)
Colvard demanding to know why certain
funds were spent in' certain ways, we
need a standard procedure which can be
easily understood and explained. We
certainly do not want to take over the
allocation of student funds. We like the
student involvement and we- don’t have
time to run the process.”
To this end. Dr. Orr organized the
Student Activity Fee Review Committee
to “analyze the present system and make
recommendations concerning the revision
of the allocation system.” Orr says, “We
placed only seniors on the committee
because we wanted people who
understand the way the present system
works, and more importantly, people
who have no self-interest in the system.
Far too often, students in an investigative
role have a personal interest in decisions
tliat affect future years. This committee
needed to be objective.”
-iohn Fraley, appointed by Orr as
( continued on page 2 )
Drained pond mystery solved
By Nancy Davis
One of the biggest
curiosities on the campus of
UNCC is the muddy remains of
the pond by the Student Health
Center. Despite rumors, the
drained pond is nothing more
than a drained pond.
It is not the foundation for
a new co-ed dorm, nor is it the
sight for a triple decker parking
lot. “We just had to drain the
pond,” said Ed Ayers, UNCC
Physical Plant director.
“That pond was built four,
years ago to handle the normal
run-off of water caused by
rain,” explained Ayers. A
misjudgement in the standing
overflow pipe size caused
problems in the handling of the
“two floods that we’ve seen in a
little over a year,” said Ayers.
The overflow of rain was
causing erosion of the dam and
permanent harm. A spillway will
be built underneath the dam
(the sidewalk crossing the pond)
and a larger overflow pipe will
be constructed in the middle of
the pond.
The plans are drawn and
“will go out'for bidding next
week,” said Ayers. The
estimated cost of this
improvement is $2,500.
“If we put in a concrete
spillway, the cost would be
$8,000, but the effect would be
the same. It would be more
attractive, but I feel we can use
that $5,500 to plant trees, or
improve our sidewalks,” Ayers
said.
The pond was drained in
mid-October and took over a
month to dry up. “Work should
begin in mid-February. Its what
I call ‘creative procrastination.’ 1
was waiting for a light
bulb...something to pop up that
would be cheaper, maybe
easier,” said Ayers.
Ayers was disappointed in
the findings at the bottom of
the pond. Wlien asked if he had
visions of finding a buried
treasure or a hand sticking out
of the mud, he chuckled and
said, “Yes! But all we found were
some wine bottles!”
He was afraid that some fish
might get trapped in the
puddles. “Luckily there were no
fish at all. That was a good
surprise.”
Carolina Journal photo by David Wagoner
The remains of the pond beside Brocker Health Center.
‘China and the World’ - Thursday
By Brad Rich
The Department of Political
Science and the Friends of
UNCC are cosponsoring a
conference on ‘"China and the
World” Thursday, January 27 in
the John Paul Lucas room
Tom Thompson, the China
expert in the political science
^department, spoke about the
importance of the conference.
“I think China is going through
a transition now, the passage to
the post-Mao era hasn’t been an
easy one. Adjustments are
required, and these adjustments
will affect China’s relations with
the rest of the world,” he said.
Thompson said he sees ‘"the
end of revolutionary rule in
China.” He thinks there will be
more emphasis placed on
pragmatic economic
development. "‘There will
probably be improved relations
between the U.S. and China,
and China will probably soften
on the Taiwan issue. I think
there is a good chance of
normalization speeding up, and
during the Carter
Administration the U.S. will
probably officially recognize
China.”
The improved relations with
China will make the Soviet
Union uneasy, Thompson said.
‘"Improved U.S.-China relations
could strengthen the U.S.’s
bargaining position with the
Soviet Union. You have to
understand the key to
U.S.-China relations is not
Taiwan but the Soviet Union,”
he said.
Another reason China is
looking to improve relations
with the west is the possibility
of purchasing military
technology.
Thompson said, “That’s
why James Schlesinger was
invited over to China, and why
Guy Mery, the French Chief of
Staff was invited. They (the
,, Chinese) want to improve their
military; presently, they’re using
obsolete ’50’s weapons which
couldn’t win a ’70’s war with
the Soviet Union that they
consider inevitable.
“The U.S. hasn’t
completely ruled out the
possibility of selling military
technology to China yet.
Currently we’re permitting some
of our allies do-sell military
technology" to them The most
recent example of this is the
British Rolls Toyce sale of jet
aircraft engines to China,” he
said.
The program will begin at
10:30 a.m. Besides
presentations by Nish Jamgotch,
professor of political science,
and Thompson, the program
includes a talk by Chancellor
D.W. Colvard. Colvard, who
recently visited China, will give
his own views of the country.