Last night, Student Union Treasury heard an appeal on behalf of Pride Alliance, Korean Students Association, and Campus Programming Council (CPC) to bring in comedian Margaret Cho. The total cost of the event would be $35,000. CPC would contribute $5,000, so officially, Pride Alliance was appealing for $30,000. At the beginning of the meeting last night, there was approximately $37,000 in the Treasury appeals account.
Immediately, my concern as a representative of the Treasury was why CPC was contributing so little to the event. It seemed precisely the type of thing their group is supposed to do. I inquired about how much their budget is for the 2007-2008 school year. CPC President Kirby Malk told me they were allocated around $139,000 in the General Budget. She felt that the $5,000 contribution towards this event was appropriate for CPC to make because the group wanted to bring in another big name act this semester. They currently had $25,000 remaining to spend for the year, planning to allocate $20,000 of that to the other big name act.
At the end of the question and answer period, I proposed to give $10,000 of Treasury funds to pay for the Margaret Cho event. I felt that this type of event was right in line with CPC’s purpose and they should spend the remaining $20,000 for entertainment on it. Other Treasury reps balked at this figure, so I mulled over bringing up a controversial point. As it appeared that the majority of Treasury reps were not in favor of this number, I decided it was appropriate to bring up this controversy.
CPC is the only SU group on campus that can use its operating funds (those allocated to it from the General Budget) to purchase alcohol. All other groups must use money that they have independently fundraised. For about ten Thursdays each semester, CPC puts on Happy Hour in the Gargoyle at 4PM. They provide free pizza, wings, and beer for the students of Washington University. Unfortunately, over half of the student body cannot drink that beer because they are under the legal drinking age of twenty-one.
After bringing this up, I was called out of order by Speaker of the Treasury Neha Tibrewala because CPC’s expenditures on alcohol did not relate directly to the appeal for Margaret Cho. Momentarily, I accepted this, but the more I considered it, the more I felt it factored into our consideration of how much to fund for Margaret Cho. I was called on to speak again, and posed the question to CPC of how much they spent each semester on alcohol, and was again called out of order. I motioned to overturn Neha’s ruling calling me out of order so I could get the information I considered necessary to making a decision on funding this event. After approximately five minutes of deliberation, my motion was voted down by a majority of Treasury. Effectively, I was told by my fellow Treasury Representatives that I could not take into account CPC’s expenditures on alcohol. The appeal proceeded, and we ended up funding the event at $15,000.
Under CPC’s operating expenses for the school year, there are three line items for alcohol:
| 1/24/2008 | 10956D | Bobs Liquor | Spring Semester Happy Hour | kegs, ice, CO2 tank, bartenders, and 12 oz cups for spring semester happy hours (blanket order for 10 weeks) | ($5,955.60) |
| 9/12/2007 | 10899D | Bobs Liquor | fall semester happy hours | 9 weeks of: 4 kegs, 8 bags of ice, 2 bartenders for 4 hours, 400 cups, CO2 tank | ($5,360.04) |
| 9/5/2007 | 51375A | Bobs Liquor | Fall Semester Happy Hours | 4 kegs per week, 8 bags of ice per week, 2 bartenders per week | ($595.56) |
This totals to $11951.20 spent on alcohol. This is nearly $12,000 of the Student Activities Fee being spent on alcohol a majority of students cannot legally consume. At Senate a few weeks ago, Tamara King, University Judicial Officer, told Senators that the University is stepping up penalties for possessing a fake ID. I have no problem with alcohol at campus functions when it is paid for through fundraising. However, when CPC gets money from the Student Activities Fee, to which every student pays $345 at the beginning of each school year, I expect it to be dedicated to programming that is completely open and available to the entire undergraduate student population. Therefore, when looking at the appeal for Margaret Cho last night, I feel that this is something members of Treasury should have considered.
There are 19 Treasury Reps and about 6,000 undergrads on campus. I would love to hear how other people outside the body feel about this. Please comment!
-Brent Rubin
Representative of the Treasury
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Yes, half of students are under 21 and cannot drink (myself included). But half of students ARE over 21 and CAN drink. No event at this school caters to the likes/needs/wants of all students. If Happy Hour caters to half of students, it should be praised. Luckily, CPC also provides food and entertainment, which opens up the event for the rest of the student body. This is an event where all students are welcome - and that should be appreciated and commended.
Happy Hour is fulfilling a special niche on our campus - providing a safe environment for students to relax after a (presumably) hard week of work. For some students, that relaxation includes beer, and for some it doesn’t - but whether it does or not does not influence whether a student can attend this fun (and needed) events.
Dione-
I appreciate your response, and I’m happy to inform you that Student Union Treasury is planning a survey to be sent to the entire student body. It will gauge students feelings on Happy Hour and several other pertinent issues on campus. I’ll be sure to post the results.
-Brent
When will the survey be sent out? Just a recommendation: if you want to keep your treasury seat, do not get rid of beer at happy hour.
Dont take away beer. Take away Margaret Cho if you feel the need to be so fiscally conservative. The student body needs beer. Everybody loves it.
Brent sweetie, this is your mother telling you to stop being such a [expletive deleted]. Happy Hour is not just a place to get wasted from 4-530 in the afternoon, nay it is a meeting place of friends, family, B&D, and people who normally work in Bear’s Den. Take a piece of the social pie, Brent - it tastes real good.
I agree with Dione. As a junior living off campus, and a general non-participant in most of the things that I’m FORCED to pay for with the Student Activity Fee, it warms my heart that there’s SOMETHING it pays for that I can appreciate. Wash U students have generally reconciled their negative views on the fee; leave it alone
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