FASA Finances
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The Fine Arts Student Alliance council approved their budget Oct. 4, which resulted in a quadrupling of honorariums for VPs and a doubling of the presidential honorarium.
While there was some confusion regarding the amount the President would receive resulting from misinformation on Twitter, the executive honorarium is now set at $3,000 per position, per semester—totaling $6,000 a year.
“It was a pretty small error [online], but the implications are pretty big,” said FASA President Paisley Sim. “We all make the same amount of money. I wouldn’t be okay with [making more than my executives] at all. It’s inappropriate.”
Prior to the approved increase, the president’s honorarium was $1,500 per semester, and $750 per semester for VPs, which Sims explained was a major reason for the increase.
“Seven-hundred fifty bucks a semester doing this amount of work just doesn’t make very much sense,” she said.
Putting in at least six hours per week in the office, and matching that outside of the office, Sims explained that the hours her and her executives clock each week varies.
“[Orientation was] basically a full-time job. But there’s also planning for project grants, […] planning meetings or what we do to write and implement policies,” she said. “The hours are substantial, and it’s only fair to attract candidates in future years to take on this amount of work. You have to have some compensation.”Comparatively, FASA executives will have the highest honorarium of any of the student associations. The Commerce and Administration Students’ Associations honorariums are $1,000 per semester for the president and $500 per semester for VPs. The Arts and Science Federation of Associations pay their executives $1,500 per year with a reimbursement of $50 per month for cell phone usage.
“I would say these honorariums are fair, as being part of a faculty association does create additional living costs,” said CASA VP Academic & Student Affairs Danny Shakibaian.
“It also serves as an award for the tireless hours we commit without any remuneration. We don’t commit to these positions for the honorariums, or to put the experience on our resumes; we do it only to give back to the students. [It’s] a nice gesture at the end of the day.”
The Engineering and Computer Science Association’s council, however, is run on a “volunteer basis,” according to ECA President Nathanael Occenad. They receive no honorariums or bonuses at the end of the year, but do receive $25 per month towards their cell phone plans.
“Our executive works a minimum of 15 hours a week, but some execs go up to 30 or 40 hours a week,” explained Occenad. “We’re also all full-time students. […] We do it because we love it.”
FASA’s final budget—which has yet to be published after some adjustments concerning the fee levy are made to the document—will be revealed at their next council meeting on Nov. 1.
