« Students opt for fixed-rate, free-play laundry | Main | Hancock invades HUSC »
November 16, 2004
Little-known fund flush with cash
Hamline students have over $37,000 available to them through the BER (Board of Elected Representatives) capital-improvement fund, according to BER chair Anne Wetter.
This figure is much larger than previous years, which may be attributed to the fact that many students do not know about the fund, what it includes, or what it is used for.
Several students recently questioned were not aware of the fund or its purpose.
The capital-improvement fund, Wetter said, is designated for any physical improvement to campus that will benefit the entire student body.
Multiple HUSC representatives have said that the cause of student unawareness is due to a lack of advertising the fund, its purposes, and its uses.
“[The capital-improvement fund] is not advertised enough. Most funding in HUSC isn’t advertised well,” first-year representative Katie Vaughan said. “This is [the students’] fund to use.”
Krystle Conley, another first-year representative, agreed; however, she attributed insufficient knowledge to the students themselves.
“Not enough students come to HUSC,” she said.
Shefali Aggarwal, HUSC public-relations chair, said she’s working to inform students about the fund.
“My role is to make students more aware of what the capital-improvement fund is. It’s a big deal to make students aware,” Aggarwal said.
Recent additions and improvements to campus that the fund has purchased or contributed to include new bike racks and a handicapped-accessible door for the bookstore. The capital-improvement funds most recently helped finance improvements to the Drew Science commuter lounge.
“Each member of BER has their own ideas they are working on,” Vaughan said.
There are a variety of current ideas for the fund, including dormitory improvements, expanding the number of titles in the Bush Library DVD collection, and adding ramps to the student center’s east door.
All of these suggestions have been brought to HUSC, but none have yet arrived on the HUSC general-assembly floor.
There are multiple steps a student must take to access the capital-improvement fund (see sidebar).
The fund is usually between $20,000 and $30,000. Wetter said this year’s increase occurred because student organizations did not spend their entire budgets last year, and the remaining funds were placed in the rollover fund.
The capital-improvement fund receives 60 percent of the rollover, according to HUSC’s by-laws.
Wetter said she hopes to spend the entire amount this year.
“Why not take advantage of $37,000?” she said.
Posted by msveum at November 16, 2004 10:54 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)