| Written by Wiley Combs |
| Thursday, 06 November 2008 09:30 |
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The Associated Students of the University of Wyoming Senate’s shortest meeting this year included the second reading of Senate Bill 2222, the Mandatory Student Fee Increase for the next fiscal year.
With the new legislation, ASUW’s fees increased by $10 per student.
“Despite the almost staggering number that it is proposing, we have decided that it is a reasonable and well-thought-out piece of legislation, and have supported it unanimously,” Senator Brianna Jones said.
Trent Mankowski, senate ex-officio for the United Multicultural Council, was the only member of the assembled body to speak in disagreement with the bill.
“It is to the great disappointment of the United Multicultural Council and many of its affiliated RSO members that the budget has been created with the numbers that it has. It is a serious disappointment to not only me, but the members that I represent. The programs that pertain to sustainability and social justice created by the previous senate are being poorly enforced and supported in exchange for a significant budget increase to avoidable and unnecessary programming,” Mankowski said.
Mankowski proposed making the fee increase a two-year program that would allow for better allocation of funds.
Senator Jason Murdoch reminded legislators that at the same time last year, ASUW voted against a fee increase of 45 cents.
“Despite the high levels of fee raise, I’m really happy that we’re going to be able to support the programs that we have and love,” Jones said.
The increase had been the result of several factors, one of which was the under-estimation of attendance.
“They just made guesses on the numbers of students that were going to be here, and they were off,” Benjamin Kinney said.
Kinney said about half of ASUW funding went to SAC and C&C.
“The problem I saw was that there was a very significant increase; we’re talking about an 80 percent increase to SAC and C&C’s budget, and it was a scrape to get $5,000 for the Multicultural Council and the Student Sustainability Council,” Mankowski said.
“So these student programs that are supposed to be spearheading diversity, social justice, multiculturalism or sustainability efforts of our student leaders are having their legs cut out from underneath them after being established last year,” he said.
“Are we willing to sacrifice those at the expense of making sure that we’re cutting edge for concerts? An $80,000 increase to SAC and C&C is not necessary.”
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| Written by Caitlin White |
| Thursday, 06 November 2008 09:21 |
Every student at the University of Wyoming is familiar with paying student fees, but how many UW students actually know where the money they give to the university goes?
For the 2008-09 schol year, tuition for resident undergraduate students is $94, while resident graduate students pay $174, according to UW’s general bulletin. If the student is not a resident of Wyoming, the undergraduate’s tuition is $341. A non-resident graduate student pays $498. The tuition fees discussed are per credit hour.
These fees are cross-college except for students in pharmacy or law. Tuition for pharmacy students is $262 for residents and $586 for non-residents.
For law students, the tuition for a resident is $288 and $643 for non-residents. These tuition fees are also per credit hour.
In terms of other fees, all students, residents or not, pay the same amount. The student fee is $189.13. For full-time students, add $211.50 to the $189.13 for a total of $400.63. A part-time student, taking nine credits or less, only pays the $189.13 in student fees.
The student fee of $400.63 is broken up into five different areas. According to the UW general bulletin, the Wyoming Union receives $115., Student Services receives $74.13, Student Health receives $92, Intercollegiate Athletics receives $65, and Recreation Programs receives $54.
UW’s general bulletin said the Wyoming Union receives this money for support of operations, replacement of equipment and for planning, renovation and construction. The Student Services income is specified to support ASUW including student activities and Student Services operations and related activities. It also supports the Branding Iron, “Owen Wister Review,” “Frontiers,” the campus recycling program, AWARE, music, theatre and cultural programs and a centralized wellness program.
For Student Health, the fees include unlimited visits to staff physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses. Student fees do not cover consultant clinics, pharmacy, laboratory, X-rays, allergy immunotherapy, immunizations, appliances, medical supplies or specific procedures.
Fees that go to Intercollegiate Athletics helps support these athletics. They also provide full-time students with free admission to all university intercollegiate athletic events on campus. Recreation Programs supports campus recreation facilities and programs.
Each UW student also pays a computing fee. According to the UW Web site, this fee is for the support of a computer education environment within the college the student is majoring. This fee differs between colleges. For the Colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Business, Health Sciences, Law, and undeclared students, an undergraduate fee is $2.95 per credit hour up to a maximum of $34.
For graduate students in these colleges, it is $3.95 per credit hour, also up to a maximum of $34. If a student is enrolled in the College of Education, it is a flat fee of $34 per semester. The fee for the College of Engineering is $59.
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| Written by Caitlin White & Tom Schambow |
| Tuesday, 04 November 2008 11:58 |
The Republican candidate for Wyoming House District 46 began his campaign as a write-in in the primary and now captured the victory in the general election Tuesday.
Republican Glen Moniz won the election over Democratic candidate Jim Thompson.
Republican Glen Moniz won the election with 49.01 percent over Democratic candidate Jim Thompson who collected 44.68 percent of the votes.
Glen Moniz has many goals for the future of Wyoming. Moniz said his main goal going into the House will be to equally divide the revenue of Wyoming to every county in the state. He added that he would like to continue the effort to equalize funding to mineral poor cities and counties.
Moniz said he stands for common sense. He said he stands for responsible economic growth, less government and a business-friendly approach to economic development.
Moniz said he would like to find a way to shape the economy to encourage students to stay in Wyoming. Moniz added that he supports continued funding for the University of Wyoming and for K-12 education. Moniz said he sees students of Wyoming as important.
Moniz added that he would like to see Wyoming become a brucellosis-free state and he would like to do this with the help of UW. He added that he supports funding for agriculture and animal science research and outreach.
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| Written by Jamie Crew & Justin Earnshaw |
| Tuesday, 04 November 2008 11:56 |
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The close race for Wyoming House of Representatives District 14 was decided after over 4,000 absentee ballots were counted. 
The Republican incumbent Kermit C. Brown was pronounced the winner. This will be Brown’s third term as representative.
Brown received 1,960 votes, or 49.45 percent of the total. His opponent, Pat Kiovsky, received 1, 643, or 41.45 percent.
Brown is an attorney and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Husbandry and Business Administration. He is a member of the Laramie Economic Development Corporation and the Laramie Chamber of Commerce. He was also involved the special interest groups Coalbed Natural Gas and Water Use Task Force and the Council of State Governments West – Water and Public Lands.
As representative to the state legislature, Brown will have a role in deliberating the state’s actions in regard to several important issues, which currently include the Wyoming Legislators’ Back to School Program, a Community College Planning Task Force and State Capitol Upgrades and Renovation Projects.
Brown felt that his opponent was an excellent contender.
“It was too bad that either candidate had to lose. My opponent ran a great race,” Brown said.
His opponent, Pat Kiovsky, was equally impressed with the race.
“I feel I had a great yield [of the vote]: He’s the incumbent and well known in the community,” Kiovsky said.
Kiovsky said that the results show that many in the community felt that the issues she addressed were important, and furthermore, were indicative of the opinions of voters.
The issues she felt were most important were those of health care and the impact state legislation actually had and can be felt within the community.
“I think that the unevenness in legislature needs to be addressed in how much can actually be accomplished,” Kiovsky said.
Kiovsky added that she will be watching Brown to see if he follows through on his campaign promises.
Brown has remarked that he “feels like a man without a country” in regards to the national party.
He maintains, however, that the Republicans in the state legislature have not lost their ideals and strive to fulfill them.
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