The University Wide Council, a governing body made up of top SG officials, was disbanded last week after SG’s new constitution was approved. The document, which was ratified by 87 percent of the student vote, called for the UWC to be replaced by a senate – with less members and power.
Student Body President Austin Shaw said he’s “happy to see it go.”
Under the old constitution, the UWC was responsible for allocating funds to student groups and organizations. It also funded university-wide events, like The Keys to Success Seminar and Sundance Multicultural Festival. The UWC was made up of 13 SG executives, including the president, vice president, governors, senate speakers from the FAU’s four main campuses and three UWC representatives.
“The problem with the UWC was it served as all three branches of government -that’s undemocratic,” Shaw says. “There were no checks and balances. It was composed of executives but passed legislature, had a budget and held court hearings.”
The UWC, which controlled more than $300,000 in student Activity and Service fees, allocated funds to FAU’s four main campuses based on the number of credit hours taken by students at the campus.
But with the UWC gone, a question arose over who would distribute the funds for university-wide events.
During their last meeting, the group decided that the newly allocated funds will be controlled directly by each campus through their own House of Representatives, as outlined in the new constitution. The new document also creates a university-wide Senate, which “will not be like the UWC because it will strictly be a legislative body,” Shaw says.
According to the last bill the UWC passed, funds are divided by credit hour. The Boca campus will receive 71 percent. The Broward campus will receive 19 percent. The MacArthur campus will receive 6 percent, and the Treasure Coast campus will receive 3 percent of the funds formally controlled by the UWC.
“The UWC budgeting process in the past was used as a political fulcrum,” Shaw says. “Student Government is done micromanaging funds.”
