Now that the library steps are frequented by students flocking to class, and Tuftslife.com is flooded with countless events for us to occupy our time before, between, after and maybe even during those classes, I think it is appropriate to share directly with the student body the status of these activities in light of the events of the past few months. As Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasurer, I am required to regularly report on the "State of the Treasury" to the Senate. I gave the first of these updates last night, and I believe it appropriate to share some of my comments with the greater Tufts community.
Last spring, the Allocations Board and TCU Senate successfully allocated $1,143,741.22 in funding to 156 student groups. Simultaneously, the Treasury has undergone substantial changes in policy and procedure to accommodate a transition to the Tufts University financial system. I am pleased to report that the Treasury is fiscally sound and stands poised for yet another year of funding quality student programming here at Tufts.
I am proud to lead a Treasury that has emerged with strength and conviction from one of its darkest periods. I will urge you all to forget the past and look to the future, it is impossible to fully appreciate the magnitude of what we have accomplished, or the work that still lies ahead, without briefly reflecting on the trials we have already faced. As many of us vividly recall, last fall we discovered that our beloved advisor and former Director of Student Activities had embezzled over $300,000 from Tufts, much of which was drawn from Senate-controlled Student Activities Fees. The ensuing investigation uncovered further fraud by another former member of the office, with all embezzled funds totaling nearly $1 million.
This began a major period of transition in the Treasury as we worked closely with the Tufts University Financial Division to move from our outside bank account to the university financial systems in order to facilitate more secure transactions for TCU business. This, unsurprisingly, has resulted in significant changes for the TCU Treasury. Continuing the work begun by last year's Treasurer junior Scott Silverman, we spent the entirety of this past summer preparing the TCU for its new operational structure. While many of these changes will take place behind the scenes, others are very public. To begin with, our procedures for disbursements have changed dramatically, and these changes are reflected in the revised Treasury Procedures Manual (available at http://senate.tufts.edu/treasury). We have also welcomed a new business manager, Annie Wong, to the ranks of the newly renamed Office for Campus Life and will soon be welcoming a new occupant to a revised budget and fiscal coordinator position. While I hesitate to speak in the abstract, you will all, along with the leaders of the 156 (and counting) student groups, learn the full extent of the changes in the coming days and weeks as activities return to their full capacity. While we understand that many of the changes will seem daunting at first, I assure you that Associate Treasurer Lauren Levine and I have done, and together with Assistant Treasurer Aaron Bartel, will continue to do everything we can to ensure that both the Senate and the students it serves can navigate the bureaucracy and continue to fund student programming in a fashion that does not disrupt any of the events we have always supported.
Moreover, I am confident that Tufts and the TCU have worked together to do everything in our power — and then some — to ensure that these funds are secure.
Out of our troubled year grew an unprecedented period of opportunity for the Treasury, a chance to move away from years of precedents and remake our funding policies on a clean slate. There are procedural changes that will no doubt affect the way we do business, but the substance of our mission to student groups has not and will not be affected. We remain charged with funding programming in the most inclusive and responsible manner, and we are now afforded the opportunity to do that better than ever before.
No actual student programming has suffered as a result of recent events. While indeed a number of student groups incurred massive deficits as a result of fraud, last night the Senate voted to waive $162,211.33 in penalties for student organization deficits traceable directly to these crimes.
Today, the TCU as a whole remains fiscally solvent. While Fiscal Year 2008 endured significant financial hardship, we now maintain a healthy operating budget of just over $1.3 million for Fiscal Year 2009. Moreover, as a result of the scandal, this past week the university initiated the reimbursement for the TCU in the amount of $902,338.00 to recoup the losses incurred. After balancing our deficits, along with some backlogged debts to the university, our total usable recovered funds total $714,291.72. Over the this summer, I asked the university to create a separate TCU account solely for this money in order to segregate it from our annual operating funds. I strongly believe that we ought to treat the recovered money not as typical surplus funds, but rather as a unique opportunity to impact the Tufts community, and that the Senate ought to work with the entire student community to determine the best use of these monies. The Treasury and the entire Senate Executive Board are committed to an inclusive and vibrant debate to this end.
It is essential that both the Senate and the greater TCU engage in a dialogue of how, specifically, these funds should be spent. To that end TCU President junior Duncan Pickard and I will be heading a task force to lead this discussion. While this is certainly a substantial amount of money, we will be working to manage the process of soliciting, debating and sorting ideas so we can ultimately discern an appropriate use of the recovered funds without overshadowing the other work of the Senate.
As we work to move the TCU forward, I am also excited to be working with this year's Allocations Board (ALBO), which includes a wide range of experiences, from a former Treasurer to freshman senators who bring fresh perspective and unyielding energy to the body. I am confident that ALBO this year will be sharp and innovative, a tremendous asset to the Senate and our funded groups during this period of transition and renewal.
As we move beyond the adversity that befell the Treasury last year, I want to close by offering a few pieces of advice. First and foremost, this is a new year. Forget "what we did last year." Move on. We have the unprecedented opportunity to begin afresh and forge our own path, deciding which funding models work and which do not. We have a lot of work to do, but the decisions to be made are ours, not our predecessors'.
Finally, remember two more things: First, that the funds we allocate do not belong to us, and that second, our role is not just about the money. The Student Activities Fees do not belong to me as Treasurer or even to the Senate. While we have been entrusted as custodians of this money, every Tufts undergraduate paid an equal share into this fund and each is entitled to reap the benefits. An activity we fund may be just one part of one student's Tufts experience, but it may also be another student's entire Tufts experience. Our role extends only to ensuring that student activities here are adequately, fairly and responsibly funded. We are not here to nickel-and-dime student organizations, but rather to do everything in our power to stretch our resources to support programming to its fullest potential.
With these guidelines in mind, I am honored to serve as your TCU Treasurer. Tempered by the past and focused on the future, I am eager for us to work together to support and improve student life here at Tufts.
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Matthew Shapanka is a senior majoring in political science. He is the Tufts Community Union Treasurer.
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