As a new year starts at Asbury, the budget office, as well as Student Life, have decided to reallocate a portion of the Student Activity Fee to strengthen or bolster other student initiatives. The reallocation is within the Student Activity Fee that students pay every semester. A portion of this fee goes toward projects such as the Asbury Collegian, the Asbury Review and the Asburian. Some students have voiced concerns about changes to the fee.
Valerii “Val” Valushenko, the Executive Treasurer for Asbury’s Executive Cabinet, told the Collegian regarding the allocations, “the student fee is not changing… the money is simply being rearranged inside the student fee. It’s a smart move because it does not require us to go through approval from every single department on campus. We can just approve it with Student Life. We’re not changing the amount that students pay, we’re changing where it goes.”
Students have also voiced concerns regarding budget cuts towards various student initiatives that are funded by the Student Activity Fee.
Joe Bruner, the interim vice president of Student Life, told the Collegian, “There seems to have been a misunderstanding for some.” Bruner continued, “This is not a budget cut. Yes, there was a budget, and yes, we took money out of that budget; however, the money that was taken out that was in that budget is going towards The Asburian now.” Bruner continued, “for a cleaner budget, as well as a cleaner reporting structure, we took out money from the Collegian so we had money for the Asburian [yearbook] now.”
During the past two school years, the Asburian has gone without funding, and Bruner is ensuring that the yearbook will return for the 2025-2026 school year.
In addition to reallocating parts of the Student Activity Fee, Asbury has made the decision not to hire replacements for staff who resigned or retired during the previous summer. Bruner also stated that he hopes the additional funds that have been freed up as a result of these decisions can eventually go towards renovating buildings such as The Eatery and dormitories that have not yet been renovated.
“I’ve always said the success of campus comes from two things,” said Bruner. “Where [students] sleep, and where they eat. If those two are successful, then so is Asbury.”If students have any questions regarding the fee reallocations, they can contact Joe Bruner at joe.bruner@asbury.edu. The reallocation of student fees will be finalized during the first Asbury Student Congress meeting on Sept. 30.
Photo courtesy of Asbury Smug Mug.
