On Having Cake, and Eating it Too
Why Allie Moore Must Resign the Office of SA Treasurer
Issue date: 1/20/10 Section: Opinion
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The Treasurer of the Student Association shall:
A. Acquire and compile the reports on all appropriations and disbursements of the Student Association;
B. Supervise the disbursement of all monies appropriated by the Student Senate;
C. Advise and assist the President in preparing the budget;
D. Compile and maintain the account of expenditures;
E. Compile a monthly budget statement for each Cabinet member and the Senate;
F. Serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of all Senate Standing Committees.
The Treasurer is paid for 20 hours of work per week at minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour. Over the course of a sixteen week semester, the Treasurer receives a $2,320 salary. The incumbent treasurer, Allie Moore, sought and has obtained full-time employment as a spring (busy season) intern with the public accounting firm Grant Thornton. As with most public accounting firms, Grant Thornton expects 45-50 hours of work per week from their busy season interns. Interns earn an average hourly wage ranging from $16 to $20 and are paid time-and-a-half for all overtime hours. It is common for "busy season" interns to earn more than a full-time staffer.
Sixthirtyone congratulates Ms. Moore for securing such lucrative employment prior to graduation. That being said, it is doubtful that full-time public accounting work combined with a TU course load will leave Ms. Moore any meaningful time to attend to her duties as the Treasurer of the TU Student Association.
It has been suggested that Ms. Moore retain her post [and her $2,320 SA salary] and delegate the majority of her responsibilities to an "Assistant Treasurer." The position of "Assistant Treasurer" currently does not exist within the executive structure of Student Association. This plan is nothing but a ruse to allow Ms. Moore to retain her title and $2,320 salary while a younger and less experienced student performs the critical duties of Treasurer [without pay]. The chartered student organizations of Student Association depend on the Treasurer to disburse funds for events and conference travel in a timely and accurate manner. Without a competent Treasurer willing to honor the time commitments made to the office of Treasurer, student organization funding and SA programming will grind to a halt.
There is time yet for Ms. Moore to resign the office of Treasurer and yield to a student able to do the job. The students of the University of Tulsa deserve a competent and functional student government and should accept nothing less.
