Finally.
After months of dragging their feet, FAU administrators are finally calling Student Government to task for their embarrassing behavior. FAU President Frank Brogan has finally thrown down the gauntlet in his scathing letter to SG demanding that they shape up (UP Oct. 12), and I’d like to think that I had something to do with it.
Last month I wrote a bristling opinion piece (“F-owl Play,” UP Sept. 14) criticizing FAU’s administration – particularly Student Affairs and President Brogan – for not taking any kind of disciplinary action against Student Body President Kirk Murray in light of his incompetent and potentially illegal handling of SG’s book giveaway program.
A week later Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Charles Brown, in a letter to the editor (UP Sept. 28), said that my “condemnation of the administration was premature,” which I might have agreed with except for the fact that both FAU police and Student Affairs had been aware of the gift card scam allegations since April.
Two weeks after that President Brogan released his letter of condemnation (UP Oct. 12).
Here I was thinking that my scolding words had fallen upon deaf ears, but apparently someone was listening.
I was in Brogan’s office last week, and he made no bones about his disillusionment with the current SG administration, especially Murray. He told me he has never seen anything like this in all his years in education.
“We have been investigating and I have made numerous attempts to intervene,” Brogan said. “But they [SG] have been unreceptive. I know that not everyone in SG is at fault, and it really comes down to just a core group. But, like I said, enough is enough.
Students shouldn’t suffer for the faults of a ‘misguided’ few,” Brogan said.
Ironically, I have never spoken to Murray in his office.
He has declined several invitations to write a rebuttal piece for the UP – once via his assistant – never returned my calls and was curiously absent whenever I visited his office. You know something smells in Denmark when the university president is more accessible than the student body president. And it’s not just me.
Murray’s self-castrating casualties – like awarding himself a Kaplan scholarship and allowing Boca Senate Speaker Rocky Joarder to threaten to take away Owl Radio’s office keys, leading to what some thought was a shutdown – have garnered attentionfrom local media. But Murray was conveniently unavailable to the Sun-Sentinel, the Palm Beach Post and television networks. Even Mark Foley had a spokesperson make his excuses for him. But our Murray was too busy hatching an escape plan to comment in his own defense. Next thing you know he’ll be checking himself into rehab and joining Incompetence Anonymous.
I’m pleased that the administration is finally trying to stop this runaway train called SG. But what troubles me is how they lost control in the first place. In his latest eyebrow-raising screw up, Murray granted himself and other SG members a $1,000 Kaplan Test Prep scholarship (UP Oct. 5), which wouldn’t have been too egregious had he not been the one in charge of the program. It didn’t help that he was unfettered by the administration and had no one to be accountable to but himself.
Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Leslie Bates maintains that there are internal and external controls in place, but that recently there have been some “oversights.”
“SG is responsible for $6.2 million of A&S fees [students pay $10 per credit hour for activities and services],” Bates says. “They have a controller for internal control and Student Affairs is the external.”
That’s all great except for the fact that the present “internal control” is Kirk Murray’s friend and former fellow party member Michael Hallenstein, and the “external control” only approves spending not procedures.
“Student Affairs reviews and approves SG expenditures,” Bates says. “But, no, we do not approve selection or distribution systems.”
Hallenstein was quick to come to SG’s defense – just as he did with the book voucher issue – when I asked him about the Kaplan affair.
“They [SG] didn’t get first dibs and SG recipients didn’t prevent non-SG students from receiving a scholarship.” Hallenstein says. “It wasn’t a crowding out thing. Besides, why shouldn’t SG members get scholarships? They are students too and they pay A&S fees like everybody else.”
Yes, they are students too, but unlike everybody else they have reserved parking places, Blackberry’s, private offices, assistants and a yearly salary of over $10,000. Forgive me if I do begrudge them the $10 per credit A&S fees that qualify them to receive even more free stuff (like scholarships) when they are already sitting pretty with privilege.
Not to mention the obvious conflict of interest since Kirk Murray headed the selection committee and was the one approving the scholarships recipients.
“I would have a lot of problems accepting a scholarship if I was an SG member,” Dr. Bates says. “It may not be illegal but it is certainly a conflict of interest and the ethical considerations would bother me.”
Obviously it doesn’t bother Murray, who seems to have the conscience of a fruit fly. Fortunately the administration is finally pulling out the pesticide. Brogan is finally putting his foot down, and we can only hope that Murray and Co. stick to the bottom of his shoe.
Finally.
