Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Jacob Rader ASUA Sen. Jared Cohen tries to convince his fellow senators to consider lowering their pay for next year during their meeting yesterday in the Agave Room of the Student Union Memorial Center.

In a split vote that included harsh words of disappointment from some senators yesterday, the ASUA Senate approved a stipend proposal that will continue to give $1,500 to each senator next school year.

The proposal passed with a 6-3 vote. Sens. Jared Cohen, Amanda Collins and Seema Patel strongly opposed the proposal, instead opting for senators to make $1,100.

Sen. Lauren Abbott was not in attendance to vote. Sen. Dustin Cox was also absent, but his vote was carried by Sen. Amy Drapkin.

Drapkin feared that lowering the stipends would hurt diversity in the senate. Fewer students would run for Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senate in the future, since they would not be paid as much to compensate for senate work, she said.

"There's no way I can have a job with this position right now. It's just not feasible," Drapkin said. "I think a lot of others would agree."

Cohen disagreed and said senators should examine all avenues, including taking on a second job to pay for personal expenses while not forgetting why the senate is there in the first place, he said.

"We're here for the students. We're not here to get paid ourselves," Cohen said. "If you're looking for compensation for everything you do in life, you're going to come up short on everything."

Lowering the stipends would not just affect senators. It would save ASUA $4,000 that could be used to fund programs and clubs that need the money, Patel said.

"We were talking about the people who wouldn't be able to run because the stipends would be lowered," she said. "But I'm worried about the other students. I'm really disappointed about that."

Since money saved by lowering the stipend would probably be distributed evenly among programs, the amount would not be noticeable enough to fund events that otherwise would not be funded, said Sen. Jason Ernst.

Continued...

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