Osarumwense Pat-Osagie has attended Student Association meetings and seen how the budget proposals are reviewed. Most notably, he noticed many campus organizations were getting denied funding for easily corrected technicalities.

 I was sitting there thinking, ‘Why are these groups getting denied funding?’” Pat-Osagie said. 

Pat-Osagie, a Nigerian-born junior finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major, is currently running for the position of SA comptroller in an election set to take place at SU from Nov. 12-15. Currently, the only opponent Pat-Osagie faces is the incumbent comptroller Stephen DeSalvo.

SA comptroller is the “point person” that allocates funding from the student activity fee to student organizations, said Jeff Rickert, a former SA comptroller and current graduate accounting student. The position is also in charge of overseeing the successful completion of the events planned by student organizations and rethinking the resources given for the next year.

“I think the position is a lot more important than people realize,” Rickert said. “If you go around campus and ask what the SA comptroller does, maybe one student can give you an answer.”

Pat-Osagie’s platform for the 2013 SA comptroller position focuses on bridging the gap between student organizations on campus and the SA Finance Board. He has been a member of SA since spring 2011, but has not yet served on the Finance Board.

“One of my flaws may be the fact that I do not have Finance Board experience,” Pat-Osagie said.

But Pat-Osagie said his experience as a leader in various student organizations has given him the necessary experience to understand how the budget process works from the perspective of the students.

“I know how difficult it is to plan and organize an event with the Finance Board,” he said. “I can relate to the student organizations because I know the struggles that they face.”

Pat-Osagie said students have approached him about issues regarding the budget process in the past. The realization that technicalities are the only reason many student groups are denied funding inspired him to launch his own campaign.

In order to make the process of applying for funding more effective and smoother for student organizations, he wants to create a finance advisory board, he said.

The advisory board would consist of the comptroller, Finance Board members and other SA members that would help organizations with their proposed budget, he said. The board would be able to answer questions, review budgets and assist with application issues.

The board would assist not only in reviewing proposed budgets, but also in potential marketing techniques and other tips to help ensure that the organizations produce successful events, he said.

“I know how to plan these events successfully because I have actually done it before,” said Pat-Osagie.

As a member of many student organizations, including the African Student Union, National Association of Black Accountants and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Pat-Osagie has gone through the process of applying for funding from the student activity fee many times himself and understands the struggles organizations face when applying for funding.

“I am really invested in the campus here,” he said. “I’ll have a better understanding of how student organizations handle the process.”

Pat-Osagie said he also wants to constantly improve the Finance Board through monthly student surveys.

Friends and fellow SA members have approached Pat-Osagie with support for his campaign, he said.

“I have a very good chance,” he said. “I’m well connected on campus, share the same views as other organizations on campus and I think students will relate to that.”

Pat-Osagie’s vision for SU goes beyond the Finance Board. Born in Nigeria, Pat-Osagie is planning an event for this spring that will shine a spotlight on diversity within the student body.

His plan is to throw a special event on the Quad that involves various student organizations and showcases the different cultures.

“I want to open the student body’s eyes to the diversity on campus and to have the entire campus learn about different cultures,” he said.

Multicultural organizations and other groups on campus will be able to perform, showcase and display their culture through talents, history and food, he said.

The diversity event is just one of the many plans Pat-Osagie hopes to achieve during his time at SU. For now, he’s focused on his campaign for comptroller.

Said Pat-Osagie: “I know the students, the campus, the community, and I know I can change current problems with the Finance Board.”

Published on November 6, 2012 at 2:18 am

Contact Jen: jbundy@syr.edu