An e-mail intended for 19 people in the Union Drive Association has Academic Resource Coordinators and students all over UDA debating the usefulness of the coordinators’ positions.

Ross Kelderman, Union Drive Association president, said he decided to take a step toward the evaluation of the Fresh Start program as a possible place to address the Department of Residence’s $600,000 budget shortfall. He sent an e-mail to the UDA senate asking it to consult with its constituents about the usefulness of the coordinators and get back to him.

Kelderman said he sent the e-mail on Sept. 16, but has not gotten any feedback from students yet. The e-mail was forwarded to some of the ARCs who then contacted Kelderman.

“They said this was a great program,” he said. “They got the impression from the e-mail that I was saying they weren’t doing any work.”

The coordinators are live-in student staff members who coordinate academic programs for the house, assist students with academic issues and promote academic achievement for the house, according to the Department of Residence Web site.

Kathryn Wagner, a coordinator in Friley Hall, said she thought the way Kelderman sent out the e-mails to students and not the coordinators was underhanded.

“I think it was sort of a sneaky way to go about it, but I’m not sure who it was intended for either,” Wagner said. “It seemed strange that it wasn’t public knowledge.”

As a second-year coordinator, Wagner said she thinks her position is an important part of the Fresh Start program.

“It would be too bad if it had to go,” Wagner said. “It has done a lot for students just to have a better understanding of what’s going on. We encourage participation in personal development, community service, and clubs and organizations.”

Kelderman estimated the yearly cost of the ARC position to be $252,506.

He said he believes Fresh Start should be limited to one of the suite buildings, and coordinators should be paid by an additional fee students would pay to live there and be a part of the program.

Todd Holcomb, associate vice president for student affairs, said he wasn’t aware that Kelderman had sent out the e-mail. He said the Fresh Start program is going to be evaluated by a work group developed by the Inter-Residence Hall Association and the Residence Life staff.

“It’s a valuable aspect of the Fresh Start program; they compliment each other in what the Fresh Start program is trying to implement,” Holcomb said.

Drew Larson, IRHA president, said he was glad to see Kelderman taking the initiative to go after the information he wanted because he expects the Union Drive Association to be a leader in the Fresh Start program evaluation since it and Maple Hall are the Fresh Start buildings.

Larson said the coordinator position is probably the most expensive part of the Fresh Start program.

“I’m not sure that we’d want to completely eliminate the position,” Larson said. “I think we need to evaluate how much space we allow for the program and how many resources should be devoted to the program.”