Coming into the 2023-24 academic year, UNK was faced with a $4.3 million budget shortfall. As of right now, what this means for the future of our campus is uncertain.
The one thing that is certain is that UNK will be affected. As we await to hear what changes are headed UNK’s way, we can’t help but wonder how this is going to affect us as students.
Our team is reassured to hear that Temo Molina, the student body president, is serving on the budget advisory committee. The Antelope approves of this decision.
We believe it is important that the student voice is heard and included in big decision-making processes like this one. The student perspective is bound to offer different insight than a staff, faculty or administration member can. Everyone brings a different viewpoint to the table, so taking advantage of that is key.
Also, since students make up most of the campus community, our thoughts, opinions and suggestions should be considered when making these decisions. Molina’s role in the budget advisory committee helps do that.
In our eyes, one of the main reasons for having a student body president is to give a voice to students. Molina said his and Vice President Ethan Cianco’s campaign is ‘building UNK.’ One aspect of that includes strengthening communication between students and administration.
In order to do this, Molina said one of his main priorities as student body president is to build a relationship and connect with students. Our team is interested to see how he will carry out these initiatives.
By doing this, Molina can help individual voices be heard and bring the needs of students to those higher up. Molina’s role ensures student input gets brought to the table.
Whether or not student suggestions are implemented, The Antelope is happy to see them have the chance to be heard throughout this process.
Our staff hopes to see our student body president and vice president be given more roles like this one.
These are important positions. As students, we look to our student government to work toward bettering our student experience. For example, Emily Saadi, student body president in 2022-23, aided the student government by putting $60,000 toward improving campus security. $30,000 of that was raised by the student government while the remainder was matched by the UNK. We’d like to see similar initiatives taken by the current leaders.
Instead of simply showcasing the student body president and vice president, they should be given more positions of power. The Antelope wants to see the student government have more capabilities and have their involvement in campus happenings grow.
Molina’s role in the budget advisory committee is a step in the right direction.
