What would you do with 35 K?
by Joe Lazauskas
Monday March 24, 2008
Often, Sarah Lawrence students imagine outrageous ideas to make this campus great. Now, Student Senate is offering $35,000 to any student to make that happen.
As previously reported by Senator Dave Brody in The Sadie Lou Standard, The Quality of Life fund was created last spring by Student Senate after a whopping $55,000 went unspent last year, roughly $35,000 more than usual. The extra money accumulated after Senate funded events and publications did not meet their spending commitments. Last year’s version of The Phoenix/The Republican played a significant role in the accumulation of the unspent funds after over half of an ill-conceived, inflated $16,500 budget went unspent.
At a school where tensions of financial concern are rampant, the opportunity presented by the Quality of Life fund is a fantastic but rare opportunity. The money must be spent on a permanent change to the campus that will improve the quality of life for all of those in the community. The concept plays into the creativity of SLC students, and certainly every student should consider how they would spend the money.
Previously, Senate had designated a requirement of 300 signatures for a proposal to be considered. However, at the February 5 Senate meeting, the requirement was changed to a much more feasible 100 signatures. Students can submit proposals at any time until the start of spring break on March 14 at sadielou.net/proposal, and do not need to accumulate the signatures before doing so. As The Standard reported, Senate, will, in fact, set up tables outside the pub on March 10 and 11 to lure students in with food and music and help proposals collect signatures.
A rare Student Body meeting has been scheduled from 8 to 10 p.m. on April 2 for students to present their proposals. Senate hopes to continue to place excess money in the fund, and hopefully student-generated improvements to campus will build in the years to come. There are myriad possibilities for this fund, and all students should consider submitting a proposal.
