An "ad hoc committee" has been focusing on raising the funds necessary to run Fall Fest when students return to campus next year, according to Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Eric Greenberg.
The show may take on a different form than past years, but Greenberg is confident that the annual concert will take place in some capacity. "Presidential candidates [Alison Clarke and Melissa Carson] have said they will work to make sure Fall Fest happens and I imagine they would want to make it one of their first priorities for the semester," he said.
Facing the reality that no TCU funding would be available for Fall Fest, the Senate was forced to seek an alternative source. The Fall Fest funding committee was established to raise money independently from the Treasury, which receives its money from the annual $197 student activities fee, paid by all Tufts students.
According to outgoing TCU Assistant Treasurer Nik Abraham, the TCU received a number of anonymous donations of around $1000 each, with a total amount of $5,000 to $10,000 raised. Fall Fest is originally budgeted at $30,000.
"No matter what we will be having some sort of musical event this fall," he said.
Presidential candidate Alison Clarke says she has been working on planning for next year's event and considers it "really important that we have a Fall Fest." She did note, however, that next year's event may be somewhat different from what students have grown accustomed to. She said that the event will still be a "fest outside but not necessarily a big concert as it has been in past years."
The other presidential candidate, Melissa Carson, said that she too is working to try to procure the necessary funding for Fall Fest. "My part in it has been looking for corporate sponsorship," Carson said. "If we can find the money before the summer, then I would set up Fall Fest [if elected]." She said that if she found funding in the midst of the summer, then there wouldn't be enough time to organize the event.
Members of the Fall Fest fundraising committee have entertained the idea of having Tufts bands as the day's feature performers. Clarke added that the setup of the event could be different as well, with various booths containing varied activities, similar to this year's "A Tid Bit Nippy." In any case, said Clarke, "There will be music whether it be with a professional band or just Tufts bands."
Clarke said she is "excited to run a Fall Fest even if it takes on a slightly different form." Greenberg is uncertain if he will be in the area over the summer, but said he would help plan the annual event if he was.
Whether Fall Fest would take place at all came into question after the TCU Senate voted 8-7-8 not to include funding for the event in next year's Treasury budget earlier this semester. The TCU Treasury has been facing budget constraints since it was discovered in February that $50,000 in expenses had been left out of TCU budgets over the past few years. The surplus has fallen from $200,000 in 1998 to $20,000 this year. The TCU Treasury is still planning to balance next year's budget and student activities and clubs across the board have faced cuts.
