Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) worked through a number of proposals at its Wednesday meeting and learned that the Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) was in need of a bailout.
BSG Treasurer Ugo Egbunike '09 announced the SAFC was short on money, and would seek supplementary funding from College Houses and class councils.
"The three underclassmen councils...we ask that you give $1,200 each," he said. "Spring Gala costs around three times more than it usually does—$24,000. There have also been a lot of mistakes that club leaders have made this semester, and we have covered for them."
Egbunike explained that due to new fire codes and construction near Morrell Gym, the Gala would be held in Farley Field house.
"There has to be a dance floor set up, along with moonlight, and the dining charges are at least 50 percent more because the food has to be transported," he said. "Because of all that, the cost is at least three times more. It caught us a bit off guard, and because of bailing out the Bowdoin Outing Club, we are a little over where we should be. More than likely we will be fine by Monday though, after the classes and social houses help out."
Egbunike carefully avoided assigning blame for the situation. "It really isn't any one person's fault," he said.
BSG President Sophia Seifert '09 said that the situation with the SAFC was not a serious issue.
"The funds distributed by the SAFC exist solely for the purpose of funding student activities," she wrote in an e-mail to the Orient. "It is not a savings account or endowment...so when the money is given away it means SAFC is doing its job."
In other business, a funding proposal to provide refreshments at Ivies—one that has been in the works for several weeks—was passed.
Vice President of Student Affairs Carly Berman '11 said that final plan was to host two events during Ivies weekend; the first on Friday in the Farley parking lot, the second on Saturday at Pine Street Apartments. "We are asking for up to $3,000 to spend on both nights," she said.
BSG also approved $700 in funding for additional subsidized movie tickets and passed a proposal to spend $400 on free massages for students during reading period.
Although SAFC is facing a shortfall, Vice President for BSG Affairs John Connolly '11 expressed confidence that BSG would not end up in similar straits.
"BSG's spending plans depend on what the members of the assembly vote for, but right now it looks like we're going to be spending a significant portion of our remaining funds on providing food, drink, and possibly some fun BSG-branded items during Ivies," he said in an e-mail to the Orient. "We're going to continue subsidizing movie tickets for the last few weeks of school, provide $10 for copies to every candidate in a BSG or Class Council election, ensure that newspaper delivery continues until the end of the year, and host at least one more Campus Conversation... At the moment, it looks like we will spend all the money we have in our budget, but I'm keeping a close eye on things, and we are not in danger of overspending."
"Since all accounts reset every year, we should try to spend all the money we have on things that will benefit students and the campus community," Connolly added.
The assembly also voted on a constitutional amendment requiring the Campus Activities Board (CAB) representative to BSG to be elected by the student body, rather than by members of the CAB.
Because amendments to the BSG constitution require support from four-fifths of the entire membership of BSG, the proposal failed due to the fact that Berman abstained and several representatives were out of town.