Eastern’s student government executive board tuition compensation is at risk.

Although many students don’t know it, they pay for the student government’s tuition through student fees. While the tuition does not cover fees or room and board it has caused some in the student senate to question whether or not they could put that money to better use.

Michael Stopka, Tyson Holder, and Zachariah Caskey drafted and researched the newly proposed bylaw change.

“Me and my fellow co-authors proposed it last Friday at the council of chairs meetings. At a time where students are hurting financially, we should be trying to utilize student government funds,” said Caskey, a sophomore management information system major.

The student body president and the executive board will be affected by the bylaw.

“It places a solid cap on how much they can receive,” Caskey said.

Student Body President Michelle Murphy, who recently filed a resolution for the hiring of a student government webmaster, doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

“It appears that they are trying to save money in the long run, but it’s not going to save a lot of money,” Murphy said. “And an office like mine that is supposed to be prestigious can barely get people to run. If anything it is going to deter people from wanting to run.”

If the bylaw gets passed this year it will go into affect next year and will result in a cap being placed on the new cabinet’s tuition waver.

If approved the tuition compensation will be capped at $2,500 for each fall and spring semester.

“This will be another example of student government fighting internally and that’s not what we want it to be like. It’s nauseating,” Murchy said. “It will draw a nice new line in the sand. It’s going to make senate look bad and show senate only dealing with issues that affect us.”

Murphy said that because tuition rises each year that eventually the waiver wouldn’t cover enough of the tuition and no one would want to be a part of the organization.

“If a sophomore were to be elected it would have bigger impact that if it were a junior or a senior,” Student Senate Speaker Jason Sandidge said.

The senate will meet at 7 p.m. today in the Arcola-Tuscola room of Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-7942

or ovogunbodede@eiu.edu.