Beard Enthusiasts page 4
the Monday, February 6, 2012 Vol. 36, Iss. 19
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Your school. Your voice.
University of Colorado Colorado Springs Weekly Campus Newspaper
Mayor Bach hears students’ concerns during visit Aaron Collett acollett@uccs.edu
On Jan. 31, free pizza abounded in the Upper Lodge as representatives from SGA, The Scribe and several other student organizations gathered to
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fair. It’s not just about businesses, though. Health care is also poised to become a major economic factor. “[Memorial Hospital] should be a major economic driver,” Bach said. The mayor was partly responsible for the up-
We’re trying to find more ways to have dialogue with younger people.
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hear remarks from Mayor Steve Bach. Bach was elected in May 2011. Until his election, Colorado Springs used a city manager system – the nine-member city council hired a city manager to run the city. Now, Bach takes the place of the city manager in running the city, and the city council acts as a separate legislative body. The mayor’s focus in his speech was primarily about the economy and jobs. His first priority he said is to change the atmosphere in Colorado Springs to be more business-friendly. “We want to become the most business friendly city in the country,” he said. His proposals for this include streamlining approval requests, making sure regulations are reasonable and making fees
coming sale of Memorial Hospital to the University of Colorado Hospital. “Last summer, city council was poised to basically deed over the hospital to the Memorial Management – an insider group as I call them – the existing board of directors without any other proposals to compare,” he said. Bach is in favor of the eventual outcome, he said. “I think we have a better outcome today. We got five proposals from five organizations, including that management group, and I think that the best one was chosen.” UCCS students were not forgotten in Bach’s agenda; in fact, they were a primary item. “We’re trying to find more ways to have dialogue with younger people, to find out, ‘what do you need?’” Bach is an alumnus of
UCCS, having graduated from the School of Business in 1968. He had to leave for Cincinnati afterward to find a job, which affected his views on the economy. According to Bach, the economic situation now is similar to the economic situation after he graduated. “It still is in my memory, that experience,” he said. The mayor is also interested in partnering with the college to create internships and mentor-
ing programs. “I’d love for someone to follow me around for a day,” he said. But working for city government is not the only way that students can help. “One of the things that I think is important for students on this campus to understand is that you can make a difference,” he said. Bach’s most visible initiative right now is called, “Spirit of the Springs.” According to Bach’s website, its goal is to “engage
and connect Colorado Springs, cultivate future city government leadership, and engage the retired community.” Several events have already taken place, with more to come. The next Spirit of the Springs event is on Feb. 17 at the Antlers Hilton Summit Ballroom. This “Winter Rally” will, according to springs.gov, “celebrate what’s great about Colorado Springs!” There will be performances by the Taiko Society, the Colorado Springs
Conservatory and the Sweet Adelines ‘nVision Quartet, among others. Bach encouraged students to let their voices be heard. The email address, allcouncil@springsgov. com, will forward a message to all nine of the city council members. He urged students to email any and all concerns to the council. “They hear from everybody else in the community that has a special interest; why shouldn’t they hear from you?” S
Lucas Hampton
each year. However, with only a little over than half of the year behind us, over three quarters of the money reserved for club funding has already been allocated to various clubs. “Funding is awarded on a first come, first serve basis,” explained Shelton. But if every club applied for their max allowance ($3,000 per year), the SGA would only be able to accommodate about a third of the applicants.
The only source of income that the SGA can allocate toward clubs is the $14 Student Activity Fee, which is a fee each student pays each semester, and only half of this fee is used toward club funding. This amounts to approximately $100,000 for both semesters. “Our account balance right now is standing at about $17,000,” said Shelton, and only about 60 clubs have applied for funding. Although this
may seem like a strikingly low balance considering how much of the academic year we have left, Shelton explained that this is a typical occurrence. “Most of the clubs that apply for funding don’t use all of it,” he said. Shelton explained that last academic year, club funding had been completely allocated by the end of March, but $11,000 was still left in the account at the end of the year. After clubs apply for funding, their use of the
money is reviewed, resources purchased are liquidated if possible and any excess money is placed into the plant fund. If the balance is at zero in March, when all of the allocations are reviewed and funds returned, the balance may jump back up a significant amount. One solution to ensure more funding is available to clubs, especially in light of increased enrollment, is a proposed Media Student Fee. This new fee was recently approved by
both the House and Senate bodies of SGA and is expected to go on the ballot for this year’s student elections in March. Currently, the funding of student media outlets such as The Scribe and UCCS Radio is taken out of the $14-per-semester Student Activity Fee. “What [the Media Fee] will do is fund all these medias through this new fee,” said Shelton, so that, in the end, more funding will be available for clubs. S
Photo by Robert Solis
Mayor Bach had a Q-and-A session with students to better understand our needs.
Available club funding running low yet again this year lhampton@uccs.edu With over 180 clubs on campus, most of which apply for event funding through SGA, providing equitable amounts of funds to each organization can be a difficult task. Funding for student clubs is managed by Evan Shelton, the SGA finance director. Shelton has held his position for the past three years, working with a similarly-sized budget
Inside this
Issue
news
culture
New composting program page 3
Speed dating page 4
opinion
sports
Warren Buffet’s philanthropy page 8
UCCS BMX rider page 11