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Tufts Daily

TCU Senate approves funding for Trips Cabin construction

By Ben Gittleson

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Published: Monday, April 6, 2009

Updated: Monday, April 6, 2009

Senate Meeting

Dilys Ong / Tufts Daily

Tufts Community Union senators approved $230,000 in funding last night for a supplemental building to be constructed at the Loj in New Hampshire.

    The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate approved $230,000 in funding last night to go toward a Trips Cabin to be constructed alongside the Tufts Mountain Club’s (TMC) Loj in North Woodstock, N.H.
    The body voted 20-5 in favor of allocating money from the TCU recovered funds to the project, which will involve building a small structure that will sleep around 30 people who desire quieter nighttime accommodations at the Tufts-owned, TMC-operated Loj property.
    The cost for the cabin could hit a maximum of $237,500, and TMC has already raised $11,854 for the project from members and alumni. At minimum, it may cost around $200,000; TMC plans to repay the Senate any unused funds if the project ends up below the current budget.
    “We’ve been trying so long to get this, and it was amazing to see all our time and effort come to fruition,” TMC President Katie Bond, a junior, told the Daily last night.
    The disbursement of the funds includes a stipulation that TMC lower its prices for the weekend retreat center, which is open to all undergraduate Tufts students and groups but which is discounted for TMC members. As a result, certain costs for individuals, groups and TMC members will drop by $5.
    “We want to keep our prices down, we want more people to come up, and Senate wanted that as well,” Bond said.
    The debate at yesterday’s meeting centered on the merits of funding such a large expenditure — the costliest of this academic year — when the extent to which the student body at large would benefit from an off-campus structure located a two-hour drive from campus remained unclear.
    But TMC plans to launch a publicity campaign centered around the Loj in the fall. Last night, members of the group’s executive board also pledged to make rides to the property much more accessible.
    “Right now, it’s kind of a free-for-all getting up to the Loj,” TMC Vice President Brian Gilling, a sophomore who is also the director of the Trips Cabin project, told the Daily. “[Members of the Senate] want us to make a procedure for everyone to get up and enjoy it.”
    The Trips Cabin has been two years in the making as a way to expand the Loj and open it up to more undergraduates.
    Last fall, TMC members launched a campaign supporting spending part of the recovered funds on the project. The project came before the Senate then, but was shelved when the administration indicated that it would loan money to the Senate to fund the expansion on the Loj property.
    But the economic downturn dashed those plans, and the Senate did not take up the issue of the Trips Cabin again before reaching a decision on the disbursement of the recovered funds. In December, the body voted to use $300,000 of the recovered funds to create an endowment that would support student activities, channel $87,780 to student groups through the Allocations Board and put $300,000 into a savings account. It was the latter funds on which last night’s allocation focused.
    Senator Dan Pasternack, a sophomore, spearheaded the effort to bring the Trips Cabin project before the Senate again. He said that the issue deserved to be brought before the Senate when the body had a significant amount of money that could be disbursed.
    “I figured it was something that was important to TMC and, more importantly, was important to the Tufts community, and that several people on Senate stated that as one of their objectives for this year,” he told the Daily after last night’s meeting. “I figured it would only be right for it to at least be heard in Senate.”
    Senator Chas Morrison, a sophomore, voted against last night’s project. While he supports the Trips Cabin, he said that the Senate should have waited for the administration to help out with the project — something he said administrators had indicated they might do.
    “In my mind, the debate was whether building the Trips Cabin now as opposed to in the near future was worth not [being] able to put this money toward expenditures such as increased wireless or renovations to the campus center,” he told the Daily after the vote.
    Gilling said ground can be broken as soon as the earth at the property thaws enough. The cabin could be completed as early as one and a half months from now, and at latest by the start of the fall semester.
 

Comments

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Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 16:13
For those of you unfamiliar with the lodge and who think it serves only TMCer's, consider the following:
I spent practically every weekend at the lodge this winter, and can only remember one in which another student group or sports team were not there as well; the fact is the lodge is not TMC's, but the schools, and serves as many TMCers as non-TMCers. Due to its popularity, it has become increasingly hard to accomodate the wide variety of needs in the one building. These needs include:
-hosting clubs
-hosting sports teams
-space for students who spend their weekends skiing, climbing, and relaxing away from campus
-creating intercollegiate events (such as the Peak Weekend Relay)
-organizing community service projects

So, though it is a lot of money, it is going to go a long way and will last much longer than Ludicrous will at Spring Fling.

Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 16:06
This is absurd, that a student group representing a mere 5% of the student body as a whole can receive this much of the recovered student funds. Especially when there a numerous student clubs and organizations which the university and TCU senate refuses to recognize that are forced operate along without university support. Lastly, good luck establishing and keeping a contract for $230k to construct a new building while adhering to the proper safety, health, and fire codes that students need to have in place; as for the rime issue, look how well the library roof construction held to schedule, good thing it was completed in mid October as advertised.
in class and furious
Mon Apr 6 2009 15:46
$230,000 dollars to enable more rich naked people who already have a car in college to run around in the woods. best investment ever.
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 15:12
Congratulations Chas Morrison!

Way to stand up to the special interests and stick to principle by voting against this irresponsible spending in a time of economic turmoil. You would make a great TCU President because you think about the student body as a whole!

Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 15:06
This is a scam, designed to politicize a club right before an election.

The special interests have won, 20-5. Vote 'em out.

Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 14:58
I wonder how many of the people bemoaning the use of these funds won't mind at all the $100,000+ that Tufts spends every year for 4-5 hours of questionable entertainment at Spring Fling just so tour guides can say we've had Ludacris play on the President's lawn and current students can tell their friends the next day how drunk they were. It is wrong to think these funds are just going to TMC. They are being used to fund a project that will last decades and benefit anyone in the Tufts community who enjoys the outdoors and bonding with fellow students outside of the classroom.
An Alum
Mon Apr 6 2009 14:30
From the perspective of an alum, I feel that a new building is a big investment. I also believe it is a sound one. To be quite honest, $320,000 is pretty cheap as far as new buildings go. This cabin is not being built to serve only TMC members. It is being built as an extension of the Tufts campus, and is open to all members of the community. Also, it is accessible. Rides are offered every weekend - it is no secret! With some refinement, the systems in place to get people from Tufts to Woodstock, NH will ensure a safe and enjoyable weekend for anybody. Being able to get away from the Medford campus and enjoy the company of my fellow students outside of the classroom turned out to be an integral part of my Tufts experience. I am confident that the Tufts student body will understand that this is a valuable resource. I have been to the Loj a couple times recently, and found it quite crowded. It is becoming obvious to me that a cabin is not something TMC wants, but is something that the greater Tufts community needs!
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 14:27
Before passing judgment on the decision made by the TCU senate I believe that a few facts should be considered.

1. Tufts Mountain Club is the largest club on campus with over 300 members.
2. The Loj, while operated by TMC, is available for use by any Tufts student and other student groups use the Loj as a place to get away from campus for weekend retreats on a regular basis. The demand for group spots is so high that there is a long wait list and many groups are denied access each semester.
3 Tufts Mountain Club despite having such a large constituency and being a club that requires money for gear and transportation recieves NO funding from TCU
4. TMC is not allocated funds because the TCU was paying off the loan taken out for the construction of the Loj.
5. This loan was completely repaid last year and yet there was no plan to begin funding TMC.

sigh.
Mon Apr 6 2009 14:00
Oh senate, how far you have fallen. Really Duncan? This is your legacy?
Ramirez
Mon Apr 6 2009 13:57
There are better ways the recovery money could of been spent. A cabin is a pointless project simply because TSR members need a quite place to sleep! Pathetic! That money belonged to the students and we should've been involved in the decision making! There are people struggling to pay their tuition bill and we are building new cabinets how outrageous! How about enhancing wireless on campus,or renovating our ancient campus center!
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 13:31
This is out right pathetic. This money should have been used for an on campus project that would benefit the entire student body, not for one club, so its members can "get sleep before their early start the next day" (see two comments below).
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 13:30
The TMC is the largest student group on campus with paying members who are heavily involved (sorry LCS). Members have dedicated significant time and effort towards this project to benefit the entire student body, not themselves. The fundraising and proposal process has been lengthy and demanding. As an alumni, I donated to this project because countless groups use the Loj each weekend. Those who feel the Loj is 'more than sufficient' were most likely violating the fire code by overcrowding the Loj during their stay. Due to increased organization of the TMC and the popularity of retreats, the Loj has become a regular safety hazard. This summer, Tufts removed extra matresses to discourage breaking the building fire code of 26 people. The Loj is also the base of operations for Tufts Wilderness Orientation, the largest pre-orientation program at Tufts for the last 22 years that takes over 200 incoming freshman into the wilderness of New England. If you add up the hundreds of TMC members, the countless student groups, the 90 person TWO staff and the pre-frosh who would also benefit from an extra building in NH, you have a fairly reasonable argument for allocating the student activities funds to this project (wireless is not a student activity). It's far to easy to sit back and complain about the apparent 'misuse of funds' but please realize how hard TMC has worked to make this into a reality through hard work and perserverance. There is really nothing selfish about providing other student groups with a safe place to meet. The senate held many hearings on the use of this money and every time the TMC had a wealth of interested members and affiliates making the case for this cabin. It's not just for early bed times, its for everyone.
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 13:08
" we should remember that this project was in the works long before the recession fully hit." and when that was in the works, it was understood that the university would pay for the construction. Senate has never been expected to pay for large capital expenditures such as these, so why now? just because there is a large sum of monies available shouldn't be an excuse for the university to just pass the buck. Those monies were taken from students and expected to given back to students. The recession did hit but the university should establish some sort of plan as they had spoken of earlier on the Lodge as if the recovered funds did not exist. Let students fund students and the university fund buildings.
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 12:41
It's not just "quieter nighttime accomodations" that the trips cabin is providing- the Loj is open to all student groups and they often overwhelm the main area and make it incredibly difficult for TMC members to get sleep before their early start the next day. The Loj is used year-round and many student groups use it for their retreats. I agree that the amount of funding TMC received does seem astronomical in relation to current economic conditions, but we should remember that this project was in the works long before the recession fully hit.
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 11:48
as one of the 5 senators who voted against this, i think that this is a grevious misuse of the money. So much more could be done with this and i think that many senators voted based on what they personally wanted rather than what their constituencies would really want. By the tone of this forum, it is obvious that students do not support this on the whole.
Anonymous
Mon Apr 6 2009 11:44
is this a joke? with the current economy the way it is it is clear that some senators don't understand the value of money at a time like this. throwing $230,000 into a project like this is just absurd. There are so many more needs on campus that need immediate help. I wonder if the senate will continue to be able to use the loj for free for the next 10 years just as they have in the past.
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 11:15
Wow. I support TMC and their efforts to provide a nice place for Tufts Student to relax and enjo y the outdoors, but there are an endless list of things that Tufts could have used that 230,000 dollars for. I am not sure why TMC received such a large portion of the recovered funds and I am a bit appalled. There are a lot of student groups here at Tufts, many of which could have benefited from that money had it been disbursed equally. They too provide Tufts students with valuable services and experiences and this action is, in many ways, disrespectful towards them.
Your name
Mon Apr 6 2009 10:21
I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that this could have been handled much differently. Students at Tufts pay their student activities fee to be able to benefit from the programming on campus. Providing this much money to one of the 160 odd groups is not representative of what the student body feels this should go to. Had this gone to a school wide vote, I am skeptical that it would have passed. We don't always get what we want when we want and patience is sometimes necessary in these wide scale projects. That money should have gone back to the all the groups, benefiting a much wider range of people on campus not off.
Anonymous
Mon Apr 6 2009 09:49
As a recent Tufts grad who has been to the Loj on multiple occasions, I can honestly say that the Loj is more than sufficient for most people's needs. I honestly think money should be going to more useful projects that benefit the entire Tufts community, not something that so few students actually use.
a TMCer
Mon Apr 6 2009 09:34
TSR operates on a for profit business model. While I cannot speak for all branches of the TSR, I know that the Rez alone pulls in around $4,000 in revenue every week. That amount is much more than what TMC raises in a semester through the small fee we charge at the loj. Furthermore, TMC is a student group. Any funds we raise go towards keeping our club running at its best.

in the rez's defense though, that coffee is amazing!

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