UMSU executives attributed removal of the GoSA Coordinator position to unsustainable funding from the endowment fund.
I would like to comment on the work of the UMSU Endowment Fund Board of Trustees to secure the fund’s future.
Endowment funds are intended to create a long-term source of income for an organization. Funds that grow are able to provide more income for their organization.
The UMSU Endowment Fund is able to grow by investing the mandatory endowment fund fee ($6.00/student/semester).
However, much of the endowment fund fee was being diverted from long-term growth of the fund towards short-term operating expenses of various UMSU services. In essence, money collected from the endowment fund fee was functioning as a pseudo UMSU operating fee. This severely retarded the growth of the fund and its ability to generate future interest.
Spending on entitlements today diminishes the future spending of students tomorrow.
Understandably, students have an expectation of the status quo. They assumed there would be a GoSA coordinator this year as there had been the year before.
As such, I commend the UMSU Endowment Fund Board of Trustees for taking unpopular, but necessary, action. Students today are upset, but students tomorrow will be appreciative.
Jordan Lerner
MD Student
College of Medicine
University of Manitoba
