Ariel’s Fudged Numbers—An Analysis

Okay, we did some research, like good little Woodwards and Bernsteins, and we are prepared to poke some much-deserved holes in the angry invective offered by Ariel Friedler at tonight’s presidential debate. He seemed particularly upset at what he feels is a bloated ASG operating budget, citing a few specific examples of irresponsible spending. We obtained a copy of the approved 1997-98 ASG funding petition and budget (dated 2/15/98), and we can say without a doubt that MR. FRIEDLER, YOU ARE DISTORTING THE TRUTH! Let’s look at his numbers (in quotation marks), versus the budget:

“$750 for a stapler?!” General office supplies in the budget come to $234.15, and seem fairly reasonable. According to the itemized budget, they’re not even buying any staplers, but are spending $13.28 on staples for the staplers they currently own. Instead, this claim refers to the addition of an automatic stapler to the copier in the ASG office, a modification for which student groups have been clamoring for quite some time. Whereas Ariel’s claim isn’t technically a lie, it accuses ASG of overspending in Pentagon-esque proportions (like $200 for a hammer and $1000 for a toilet seat), when in fact the full truth seems to indicate a wise and logical expenditure.

“$500 for an office assistant?!” Yes, ASG does have an office assistant, a work-study student who does various clerical duties and paperwork. This is a cost that was previously paid by Peggy Barr, but must now be taken up by the ASG itself. It’s perfectly acceptable (to us, at least) that a work–study student would be invaluable in maintaining a potentially hectic office, and her work ensures that the senators and Exec Board only have more time to spend working for the students and their needs. Another overblown accusation.

“$5,917 for a retreat?!” Not at all, Ariel. According to the budget, $282.97 was spent on the senator retreat, nowhere close to the extreme claims by Ariel. What he must be referring to is the cost required to host the All Big Ten Schools conference this year, a unique opportunity to share ideas and opinions with members of student governments from across the country. $5,000 will be spent on the conference itself, while $917 will be spent to fly reps to other conferences at U of I and Penn State. Though an argument could be made for the uselessness of this expenditure, a far more compelling argument could be made for this conference as an exceptional chance to communicate and showcase our school. And it’s not really a retreat at all; the actual retreat expenditures seem very reasonable.

THE LESSON LEARNED: CHECK THE NUMBERS! DON’T TRUST BLINDLY! We’re sure Ariel has good intentions, but skewing the meaning of figures to fit one’s arguments is never the path to credibility and building trust. If any voters have questions or doubts about these numbers, ask your ASG senator to see a copy of next year’s ASG budget, and they should be able to snare it.

—Mr. Yellow