The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/25/09 Section: Commentary

Last Wednesday, USG voted in a landslide (30-12) to overturn Comptroller Jason Ortiz's decision to veto approximately $12,000 in funding for the UConn Paintball Club. Ortiz had attempted to refuse the Paintball Club its funding request on the grounds that the club holds its activities off campus. Additionally, Ortiz was opposed to the fact that Paintball Team competitions are not open to the entire student body. According to Ortiz, "The veto [was] an effort to restore the credibility of USG."

It is disappointing that the USG decided to shirk its obligation to fiscal responsibility and override Mr. Ortiz's veto. It is a fact that the UConn Paintball Team has been wildly successful in its own right, but despite their success, they do not provide a tangible service to the student body that justifies a five-figure USG funding contribution.

Ken Rusterholz, the club's chief operating officer, said that the overwhelming majority of the funds (nearly $10,000) are allocated for the purchase of practice paintballs. At a time when more than 20,000 Americans are losing their jobs on a daily basis and when monolithic tuition increases are right around the corner, the least USG can do it tighten its belt along with the rest of the university. USG, which has been no stranger to allegations of fiscal mismanagement and irresponsibility, continues to demonstrate a wanton disregard for the financial interest of the student body.

According to last Thursday's Daily Campus, "[USG President Meredith] Zaritheny said that the comptroller was acting outside his role. She also remarked that, because the same funding was passed last semester, it would be overturning precedent to take it away."

Zaritheny, as the president of USG and one the leaders of the student body, should recognize that financial circumstances have changed dramatically since last semester and as such, past precedent is no longer valid. State contributions to the university will be much lower than previously estimated, and students will be facing much higher tuition and fees than we anticipated last semester. Allocating $10,000 for practice paintballs is the textbook definition of wasteful spending.

The Paintball Team insists that its practices are open to all UConn students, and as such, their funding should not have been vetoed. Regardless of who is allowed to use the expensive paintballs, they are an abhorrently wasteful expense that the UConn student body, which funds USG, should no longer continue to squander its money on. In these tough times, the university as a whole is practicing restraint. USG should begin to do the same.

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