As the former president and general manager of WJPZ Radio Inc. (Z89), I am all too familiar with the process by which the Student Association allocates the Student Activity Fee. Syracuse University Ambulance is, like Z89, an organization which is granted an annual operational allocation; that is, a budget not for specific programs or events, but to provide for the organization’s 24/7 operation.

There is an important distinction between this type of allocation and the vast majority of SA-funded organizations, which provide programming to enrich the SU experience. Z89, CitrusTV and a handful of others exist to provide a real-world training environment for students in a particular field: For the aforementioned, it’s training for a future in the media industry. SUA is no different; students there get hands-on training for a future in medicine and emergency response.

The article ‘SA analyzes sources for SU Ambulance funding’ of Feb. 10 indicates the Student Association Finance Board is considering finding alternate methods of funding SUA because ‘the money doesn’t go to actual events for students.’ I believe I have already sufficiently argued against this point. Furthermore, the SA Student Life Committee chairman Neal Casey is quoted as saying funding ‘could come from other places such as SU Health Services’ because the organization deals with the health and safety of students. This is true, and it’s why, as my limited understanding of the organization’s structure permits me to know, the majority of SUA’s funding actually does come from Health Services. The funding from SA only exists insofar as to meet the organization’s needs as a volunteer student group, like Z89 or CitrusTV, not to provide medical supplies and the like.

While SA’s intention to ‘save students money’ is commendable, there is, in my outsider’s opinion, absolutely no reason to revisit SUA’s right to an annual allocation of the Student Activity Fee. SA’s ‘central question’ of whether the students or the university is responsible for the health and safety of the SU community is a false focus; SUA should not lose out on money similar organizations receive to provide an educational experience for its student volunteers. I have, during my time as the leader of a similar organization, seen SUA forced to continually defend itself against this very same false focus, and its leadership and its members don’t deserve that.

Alex Silverman

Senior public communications major