This story was clarified to attribute Brent Folan to the statue voting process.
Student Body President Brent Folan, responding to student criticism, said today that he went through the correct channels to approve the $50,000 SuperFrog statue in the Brown-Lupton University Union.
The Student Government Association Executive Cabinet approved the new bronze SuperFrog statue as early as last semester, Folan said.
“Cabinet unanimously approved the project on April 9,” Folan said.
The Cabinet is composed of student body officers, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Frog Aides directors and the Chief of Staff. The only personnel change to Cabinet from last year is the Speaker of the House.
Chief of Staff Evan Folan, younger brother of Brent, said his computer, containing the minutes from April’s meeting, crashed over the summer. SGA confirmed there are no records of the vote.
Evan Folan said he was not "allowed" to answer questions regarding the missing records, per Cabinet's collective decision not to speak to the media.
The Student House of Representatives did not have the opportunity to vote about the statue's commission, said Michael Dabbs, AddRan College of Liberal Arts House representative.
Folan said the approval process was appropriate, according to the guidelines set by the Student Body Code. The guidelines state that approval for the project should come from “the Cabinet or House as a whole” according to title 6, chapter 6, section 603.
Brent Folan said the contract for the statue went to the TCU Risk Management Department after the Cabinet approved the statue. The artist, Doug Roper, was chosen from a list of about 25 artists last semester, Folan said.
Student Body Treasurer David Belpedio said the statue was funded from residual funds. He estimated the final costs to be around $50,000.
Tuesday night, the House of Representatives passed a bill to regulate the usage of residual funds in the future. Now, all purchases more than $15,000 require a majority approval from House members.
Dalton Goodier, former SGA Speaker of the House, said he did not remember when he had first heard about the plans for the statue and does not remember his decision in the vote.
In concern to the student backlash has about the funding for the statue, Goodier said he trusted the decision that was made by the House.
“SGA exists to ensure students have a place and its mission is to impact the entire student body as opposed to regulate itself,” said Goodier, a 2012 graduate.
According to Josh Simpson, Vice President of External Affairs, the House collectively would not answer interview requests. A press release sent from SGA on Wednesday night is below.
Daniel Salazar contributed to this report.
