Representatives and vp don’t agree
Extension representatives said taking away the Associated Students of Utah State University Extensions vice president position leaves them without representation while Tad Thornton, current Extensions vice president, said the position should be eliminated.
All students will be able to vote on this referendum Tuesday and Wednesday. Voting will be online and will be accessible via a link on WebMail or at www.usu.edu/asusu.
Andy Haws, ASUSU academic vice president, said, “The rationale for decision was: Strengthening the individual Extension governments will serve students better than having a representative on campus.”
Thornton said the current system wasn’t meeting the needs of the Extension students. Eliminating the vice president position will provide a “greater opportunity for leadership,” he said.
According to a bill sponsored by Thornton, each Extension region will be represented on the Executive Council by an Extension senator elected from their region, and at least one chosen Extension senator will serve as a voting member of the student fee commission.
Thornton said he is simply trying to remove the middleman and give representatives direct contact to resolve their issues. They would also be able to sit on administrative counsels in their area.
Haws said if Extension students agree on a fee increase, a budget could be established to aid the Extension representatives.
All five Extension representatives sponsored a resolution that stated, “The elimination of this position took place without consulting Extension students and their elected regional representatives, and this leaves approximately 8,000 students of Utah State University who attend class off campus without specific representation.”
It stated that because there is not time to create a new position or modify the current structure of the Extensions vice president, it is the recommended the vice president position be reinstated.
Marcus Menti, southeast region representative, said, “My position on the issue currently before us regarding the Extension VP position is that the position was intrinsically well thought out and, therefore, an integral part of our student government administration function as it relates to our respective stewardships. It is therefore extremely important to have someone in that capacity whose administrative understanding of the nature of the same is well-balanced.”
The resolution also stated the new Extensions vice president should review the current structure and recommend changes which would provide further representation for off-campus students for the following years.
Tara Carter, northern region representative, said, “According to Tad, we need to report just to him. I think that he is wrong in this respect. My administration fills the gap when I am not able to be at the site and is a valued asset for me to have. I think that Tad needs to understand this link to the administration. I have mentioned it quite often in discussions with Tad just to get told off by him.
“One thing that was repeatedly mentioned was the fact that if I did not do exactly as he said to do in his own words, ‘You can be replaced as the ASUSU rep for Brigham.’ I felt that if he did not treat me with a little more respect, a scholarship was not worth the harassment I was receiving from him,” she said.