03/28/2017
To Matt Locastro and the Undergraduate Student Government:
On behalf of the Media Board, I would like to assure you that we are not here to slander your reputations or spread âalternative facts.â As media organizations, we take pride in using our platform to educate and enlighten the student body, which I will be doing with this statement.
While I commend USG for its efforts to mobilize the student body to utilize our Student Activity Fees in a way that would help address pertinent issues while ridding Hunter of its budget surplus, we feel the current referendum is inherently flawed. It does nothing to address the root issues that created the surplus in the first place. It does not resolve the various hurdles that student organizations on this campusânot just Media boardâface in their efforts to utilize their funds. And in addition, the fact that Media Board and other earmarks, such as the The Green Initiative Fund, the Welfare Rights Initiative, and the Student Resource Center, would be facing drastic budget decreasesâas cited by the email correspondences with you below, Mattâwithout any efforts to consult us is drastic, misguided, and misleading, especially since, and I quote, âwe [USG] do not have to inform student groups of cuts until this time because this is the start of theâŚprocess at which point cuts have been determined,â especially since students were not informed of these measures when USG representatives presented them with the referendum.
Most of all, bearing that in mind, as the president of an organization that would be facing some of the most severe budget decreases, one would expect that I would have been one of the âstudent leaders you consulted,â especially given that 11 member organizations representing an estimated 1000 students fall under my purview. Unfortunately, I would have remained oblivious to the referendum had I not had a meeting with the Office of Student Activities two days before the first USG Town hall Meeting.
Setting that aside, I understand where youâre coming from, Matt: you want to utilize USGâs reach to leave Hunter better than when you arrived here. And in the same sense, we, the Media Board, have the same goal. We use our platform to give the student body a voice, a place to showcase their creative talents, and a chance to leave a mark on this college during their time here.
However, this initiative threatens exactly thatâa vibrant and thriving piece of the Hunter community that has inspiredâand will continue to inspireâthe students who call this college their home to use their voices for the greater good.
And we will not be silent.
Best Regards,
Kaliroi Halkias, Media Board President