What do you do with $690,000 of surplus funds? Furry toilet seats in every dorm? How about an iPod for every student? Or another concert? No? Wifi? New bathrooms? With all the hype surrounding the recovered funds, too much emphasis has been placed on emptying the coffers as soon as possible.
There seems to be no suggestion that is off-limits, so long as it provides a direction for some of the extra money to flow. While the recovered funds should certainly be utilized (after all, that was their original purpose), the Senate should be careful and make sure that expenditures don't come with a hefty supply of buyer's remorse.
There has been talk of everything from campus-wide wireless to money for scholarships (along with some other less-appropriate ideas that were nixed early in the process). The excitement surrounding this apparent windfall is understandable -- the possibilities appear endless, and the sudden swell in funding means bigger and better things than ever before are possible this year. Things that TCU senators have been dreaming of being able to provide have become potential realities rather than distant vagaries. Just because the Senate has the money, however, doesn't mean it needs to spend it all immediately. While the idea of more concerts or on-campus activities or even new bathroom accoutrements is appealing, the Senate needs to ensure that it is not just spending for the sake of spending like a high-school kid with his first paycheck.
We have no idea what the future holds in terms of projects, activities, clubs and events that would need funding. Close to $700,000 in extra money might come in handy a few months or even years from now to sponsor an event that would otherwise be beyond the activities budget.
Recently, senators seem to have recognized this, and many have called for fiscal responsibility. A number have also correctly identified that the Senate should not necessarily jump at the chance to pay for services that the university should be expected to provide. But at the same time, this is not to say that we should hoard the money, waiting expectantly for some day in the future when an opportunity truly worthy of a slice of the money arises, bypassing the perfectly good opportunities of today.
Whatever direction the money flows, its destination should be well thought out, and it should benefit the entire community. There can be no doubt that the recovered funds offer a new world of possibilities, but all of the options should be weighed with a sense of practicality that will guarantee that they go to the right places at the right times.
Senators have certainly broached this subject very seriously to date -- but the true test of their fiscal management has yet to come. Here's to a dose of restraint.
