SGA formally opposed the relocation of Human Resources (HR) to the Sustainability Demonstration House (SDH) and the proposed name change to CU Colorado Springs at the Senate meeting on April 16. They also heard a university budget presentation.
Stop the Sustainability Department Move
Vice President of SGA Isabella Polombo and Senator of Commuter Students Brittany Iheomamere presented a resolution expressing disapproval of upper administration’s proposed relocation of HR into the SDH.
The resolution encourages upper administration to find another location on campus for HR. The reallocation of the Office of Sustainability and Green Action Fund (GAF) facilities undermines the sustainable initiatives that have been established over the last 20 years Polombo said.
The resolution states there has been minimal formal communication about the move, citing one email that alerted them of the decision and that they have until May to move out. The email was received on April 1.
“We are required to move by the end of graduation, so not the first week of May now,” said Polombo, noting a change in the original deadline.
At the town hall on April 13, Stephanie Hanenberg, vice chancellor of enrollment management and student affairs , said the decision was not finalized, but Polombo disagrees.
“The reality is that the sustainability house employees and staff have had people come in to evaluate the space for HR for changes and planning,” she said.
Student-at-Large Hunter Roren – acting as a proxy for Catalina Clay, the senator of business – was appalled that the sustainability committee learned about the decision at open forum hosted by SGA, History Graduate Student Jae Brown and upper administration.
“It was a failure of communication and accountability,” Roren said.
The senate questioned the decision in regard to its efficiency and effectiveness.
Joseph Bate, speaker pro tempore, stated that the SDH is not a secure facility, and HR deals with sensitive information.
Polombo argued most of the job is virtual.
The senate acknowledged that the cost of HR’s off-campus location is a problem, but passed the resolution unanimously.
Opposing Proposed Rebrand to “CU Colorado Springs”
Speaker of the Senate Walat Gozeh and Senator of Sustainability Asher Early proposed a bill to declare student opposition to the proposed rebranding of UCCS to CU Colorado Springs, a decision that would be finalized by May 15.
“The current brand is important to the history of what our university is,” said Gozeh. “University identity should revolve around the students at the university first.”
Amanda Allee, assistant vice chancellor for student support and engagement said that upper administration conducted a UCCS Naming and Perception survey from April 17 – May 8 of last year.
According to survey results, overall, 43% of participants prefer “CU Colorado Springs,” however, only 35% of respondents in El Paso County preferred the change.
Allee explained that donor money will be allocated to market the name change. There will be no large, up-front investment in light of budget cuts.
Senate frequently stated that students did not want to be CUCS, which is similar to cucks.
“The name change definitely did not pass the teenage boy test,” said Early.
The university has stated that the acronym of CU Colorado Springs will not be abbreviated for logos and merchandise. The senate argued that other parties may still abbreviate the name.
The resolution passed with a 16-one vote.
University Budget Advisory Committee (UBAC) presentation
UBAC Chair Christina Jimenez briefly presented updated budget information and answered questions.
Jimenez said that the primary impact on students would be cut sections, resulting in more waitlists and more students in each class.
Shivani Sharma, senator of engineering and applied sciences, said that many student employees are losing their jobs.
Polombo asked why UCCS decided on a 3.5% tuition increase instead of other proposed increases of 2.6%, 3% and 3.25%.
Jimenez said that tuition increases are multi-faceted annual decisions, so causality is hard to establish. CU Denver also had a 3.5% tuition increase, and CU Boulder had a 4% tuition increase.
“The goal is to steer UCCS through what is a really challenging time for higher education right now,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez is referring in part to the “college enrollment cliff,” which is a nationally predicted decline in enrollment caused in part by the sharp drop in birth rates during the 2008 financial crisis.
“Our state has the TABOR amendment, which severely limits state legislature’s availability to allocate funding to higher ed, and primary ed is taking priority in Colorado,” Jimenez said.
Roren said that students do not know what is going on, and when they ask authority figures, responses are akin to “I don’t know, I’ll tell you later.”
Jimenez said that the Fiscal Year 2027 budget was proposed to the Board of Regents on April 16, and answers will be clearer once it’s approved.
Jimenez emphasized the importance of hitting the projected enrollment for the fall census.
“We have to hit it, or else we might have to think about doing more shifts somewhere,” she said.
Polombo said that involved committees should reflect on what budget transparency should look like, arguing that UBAC and the Executive Leadership Team have not communicated well.
Graphic via the Scribe archive.