Despite complications surrounding the SGA SSF fund redistribution plan, Riley Owens, SGA president, remains adamant about its implementation. Owens and members of SGA put in a Freedom of Information Act request on Nov. 6 to obtain detailed breakdowns of SSF fund distribution for the past five years.

Owens said they hope to gain a greater understanding of why the intercollegiate athletics fund accounts for two-thirds of the budget.

Stephen Turner, vice chancellor of Finance and Administration, said the majority of the intercollegiate athletics SSF funds are for personnel wages. He noted that while the athletics department does have a separate budget, it is not enough to encompass all expenses and that athletics is considered to be a part of student life. Turner also said that he is unsure of when the athletics budget was first separated, but that it was at least over four years ago before he had arrived at the university.

On the likeliness of Owens’ plan going through, Turner said that it is hard to find a win-win situation with a finite amount of resources.

“There is a direction relation to the funds generated by the student service fee when the enrollment goes down,” Turner said. “It is, however, appropriate to have discussions and I am always supportive of discourse to help students understand how the parts of the university fit together. My job is to help to elevate the level of conversation to include a greater level of detail at how these things are done.”

Owens said he will wait to meet with Turner and Joy Colwell, vice chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, to discuss the possibility of allocating the funds before he gives up the proposal.