They certainly don’t get their own interns, but what exactly are the perks of being president or vice president of the Government of the Student Body?

As the elections for the most powerful positions in Iowa State’s student government commence, one may ponder what rewards a GSB member receives.

For starters, both the president and vice president get that year’s tuition paid for by GSB, said Jeremy Williams, GSB director of finance.

They also receive monthly stipends of approximately $380, before federal and state taxes. The president and vice president accept their stipends year-round because they are required to work during the summer, Williams said.

They also receive one of the most coveted possessions on the ISU campus — their own parking permit — because they are on the Memorial Union Board of Directors.

Williams said as director of finance, he also receives paid tuition and monthly stipends from GSB, but his position does not grant him a parking permit.

The positions of GSB executive secretary/treasurer and chief of staff receive about 10 hours a week of pay at minimum wage.

The only members of GSB senate who receive monetary compensation are the residence hall senators, Williams said.

Matt McLaren, vice president of GSB and senior in agricultural business and economics, said residence hall senators get paid through their residence hall association, and they also have responsibilities to their executive council.

Matt Craft, RCA senator and resident of Welch Hall, said he receives about $350 a year for his duties. He also receives a resident assistant parking space.

Craft said the reason why he and other residence hall senators are paid, and the other GSB senators are not, is because they have additional responsibilities to their associations. He added that it would be nice if all the senators were paid for their work.

“We just don’t have the money,” said Craft, sophomore in political science and pre-law. “We don’t really need to be paid at this time; it’s not feasible.”

Craft said if the salaries for residence hall senators were to be changed, the salaries for the executive members would also have to be changed, because they coincide.

Rob Wiese, current president of GSB and graduate student in professional studies in education, said he does not get any perks like paid vacations, but he does receive free transportation to regents meetings.

Wiese said he hopes students take more responsibility in their decisions concerning GSB members.

“It’s so important to have good people [on GSB],” Wiese said, adding that with the right combination of people, GSB can get a significant number of things accomplished.

Wiese said he and McLaren have viewed their positions as jobs, so they have worked hard to earn their money.

Wiese said the question of whether or not GSB members should be paid is a difficult one, because the amount of work students do from year to year varies.

He estimates that the average senator works about 10 hours a week, but depending on the time of year, he or she could work more or less.

Wiese said he feels GSB cabinet members, who do not have paid positions, should be paid. He said several members of the GSB cabinet have had to resign or cut back on the amount of time spent on their work, because they need to work at a paying job.

Wiese said he feels students should take more responsibility concerning who in GSB gets paid.

“The cabinet should be paid before the senators because they are the ones who actually put together the programs and events,” Wiese said.

Wiese said even though the salaries for the president, vice president and finance director are acceptable, the chief of staff’s pay is not.

“The president, vice president and finance director stipends are fine, but the chief of staff only gets paid for 10 hours of work a week and does 20 hours of work a week,” Wiese said. “So, it is not fair for them at all.”

McLaren said he feels the pay for GSB members is fair.

“I think everyone would like to think we all work more than we’re paid for,” McLaren said. “If you come into the office, the members of GSB who are paid are easily accessible.”

Bryan Burkhardt, engineering senator and candidate for GSB president, said the perks of the presidency in no way influenced him or his running mate, Jamal White, engineering, to pursue the presidency.

“Neither Jamal nor I decided to run because of the executive stipends,” said Burkhardt, sophomore in engineering. “Our first priority is to serve students. If the GSB executives, as well as the finance director, serve students effectively, there would be little time for them to work.”

John Hamilton, business senator and candidate for president, said most people don’t know about the stipends. He said the stipends were created so executives don’t have to get another job to support themselves.

“[The stipends are there] so they can dedicate 125 percent of their time to serving the students,” he said.

McLaren added that pay is not the reason GSB members choose to be a part of student government.

“To say the pay is the motivating factor, I don’t think that’s true whatsoever,” McLaren said, adding that if asked, any paid members of GSB would probably say they “would have done it anyway.”