Representing the entire undergraduate population and made up of 180 student clubs, the Undergraduate Student Association is the largest governing organization at UB. Funded by the mandatory student activity fee of $69.75 per student, SA manages a total budget of $2.4 million.
Despite SA's large budget and constituency, only 2,001 of the approximately 17,000 eligible voters took part in last March's SA elections.
In an effort to inform undergraduates about the functions of their student government at UB, The Spectrum is running a three-part series analyzing every branch of SA.
This is the first segment of that series.
Like the U.S. government, SA is comprised of three branches - executive, legislative and judicial. As with the federal government, each branch serves as part of a system of checks and balances.
The executive board consists of the president, vice president and treasurer. The current executive officers are President Christian Oliver, Vice President Jennifer Brace and Treasurer Naazli Ahmed.
According to the SA constitution, the president has the responsibility to be the official representative of SA, both on and off-campus, and has the power to veto legislation passed by the senate or the assembly.
Oliver said that his role as president is to "coordinate the actions of the entire SA organization, including the activities, services, professional staff, committee appointments and communication with the university administration."
The vice president is required by the constitution to assume the full responsibility of the president, in case he or she is absent.
Under the constitution, the treasurer is responsible for the disbursement of the SA budget and can offer suggestions to the senate regarding sanctions against clubs that mishandle SA money.
Ahmed said her position, which includes allocating SA's funds, is challenging because when managing funds, one has to be "level headed and objective" and be careful in the apportionment of the funds for SA's clubs.
"Club sizes, purposes, and budgets fluctuate greatly, which means that each and every dollar that is spent has to be looked at and justified carefully, as there is no way to set standards that apply across the board," said Ahmed.
The rest of the executive branch is made up of staff positions appointed by the president, which are the directors of academic affairs, student affairs, athletic affairs/sports information, commuter affairs, Faculty Student Association, and Sub-Board I representatives.
Oliver, who is serving his second term as president, said that one of his goals is to "be able to stop any student anywhere on campus and ask them what SA is and does, and have them actually know the answer."
"Before my administration, most students never heard of SA, and when I ran for president two years ago, I promised to change this," he said.
"I think a majority of students don't know what the SA really is and who it's made up of," said Jolene Chang, a junior majoring in economics. "I used to think the SA just organizes activities and concerts."
Brace said students need to take it upon themselves to find out what SA does.
"Many students don't bother to keep up with SA news and events because it doesn't interest them, but they are the same students who complain that there isn't anything to do on campus," said Brace.
The vice president said, "Participating in SA means using the free service and entertainment provided paid for by the mandatory student activity fee." These services include Visions magazine, online teacher and course evaluations, seasonal "Fests," and SA news e-mails.
"SA serves as their voice on several important university committees," said Brace. "It is near impossible for every student to just schedule a meeting with President Greiner and talk about concerns."
According to Oliver, some of the best ideas that SA has implemented have come from suggestions and criticisms that they have received from students.
"I strongly recommend students to contact us with any comments they have," he said.
One of the complaints that the SA has received recently is that "insiders" run the SA, and the average student cannot have a leadership role, according to Oliver.
"This (allegation) is completely false," Brace said. "The fact that SA has fallen into experienced hands the past couple of years is not a coincidence. SA is growing rapidly and is not an entity that can be successfully taken on by someone who is not familiar with the organization."
"Everyone who is currently on the executive board started somewhere else, whether it is a club, the Assembly or Senate or the staff," she added.
According to Brace, experienced candidates winning elections is not only positive, but also a direct result of SA's growth and success in recent years. She advised students who may run for SA office in the future to "start learning now."
According to Joshua Graham, a senior art major, improvements need to be made in the election process and that most students don't know what it takes to elected into office.
According to Brace, the preparation process for the election includes the completion of a student petition for candidacy, attendance of a meeting meant to solidify candidacy and review election rules, and endorsements from campus media and clubs.
"The actual election lasts three long days and is extremely stressful, but it gets you prepared for an entire year of stress and craziness," she said.
