Senate takes back resolution, but plans to bring major events to campus
By Bruce Garlinghouse
In response to the growing requests for bringing high-profile entertainment events and major concerts to UP, the ASUP Senate passed a resolution to fund major events.
The resolution would have required that 2 percent of every budget be set aside and placed in a major events fund that would build up over time until enough money was raised to hold a major event.
However, the Senate has decided to reconsider its vote because of concerns of how the plan would affect budgets for student clubs.
"In the short term, it would mean $4,000 that couldn't be given out to clubs each semester," said ASUP Treasurer Steve Waters.
So now, while there's widespread support in ASUP for funding major entertainment acts, there is no agreement on how to go about it.
CPB Director Tarra McCurdy wrote the resolution to establish a major events fund after hearing about other universities that had similar funds set up.
"I got the idea when I went to Boston for the NACA Nationals. A lot of schools there had one and I thought it was a good idea for our school," McCurdy said.
NACA is the National Association for Campus Activities.
Now, she is disappointed that ASUP has apparently changed its mind.
"It is pretty frustrating. They passed it and they seemed like they were all for it," McCurdy said.
Waters proposes a different funding strategy.
Instead of setting aside 2 percent of every budget, Waters said he felt it was better to allocate the money to the clubs first and then take the money each club doesn't spend and put it into the ASUP endowment fund. Unlike a major events fund where money would simply be set aside and earn no interest, the endowment fund earns interest. The interest could then be used to fund major events.
"Essentially, it came down to choosing whether we wanted to roll money into a fund that would make interest for us and would benefit us in the long run or put it into a fund that didn't earn interest for us," Waters said.
McCurdy said she understood ASUP had more questions about her resolution, but wishes they would have asked those questions before they decided to pass it, only to reject it later.
"Hopefully this will be a learning experience for ASUP so that something like this doesn't happen again. I really hope that the resolution or something similar is passed in the future," McCurdy said.
One thing on which all parties seem to agree that UP would be more fun given the opportunity to host major entertainment events.
Senator Emily Rizzo said the Senate's desire for a major events plan was part of the reason the resolution was originally passed.
"When we were presented the resolution, its passing was almost unanimous. We were pretty excited about it," Rizzo said.
For the time being, ASUP is still searching for options. But Rizzo said she thinks they're headed in the right direction.
"We were disappointed to realize the resolution may not be the best plan, but it means we're making progress in making a plan," Rizzo said.
Rizzo said senators are determined to see this through.
"We really want to figure out something soon. It's something our constituents have been requesting for awhile now," Rizzo said.
