Editor's note: This piece is adapted from a speech that Matthew Shapanka delivered at the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate meeting on April 5.
I am proud to report that the State of the TCU Treasury is stronger than ever before. The TCU has now fully recovered from the embezzlement scandal that plagued us last year; the TCU has now recuperated, and indeed substantially spent, all the funds lost to fraud; and the TCU has weathered a national economic crisis to be a stable source of funding for student programming here on campus.
I am happy to report that the transition to the Tufts financial system triggered by last year's embezzlement is now complete. While the changes have taken some getting used to, we have had an extraordinarily successful transition, ensuring the security of the TCU's funds with no substantive disruption to student activities whatsoever.
The Allocations Board (ALBO) has enjoyed its most generous year ever, having disbursed over $90,000 in buffer, new group and capital expenditure funding -- nearly double any previous year. We have also disbursed over $80,000 in recovered funds, ensuring that such projects as the WMFO studio upgrade and the upcoming campus center renovations could come to fruition.
In addition to these projects, the recovered funds have already been put to use to benefit the Tufts campus. The Senate recently approved a $100,000 loan to Tufts Student Resources to assist in the renovation of The Rez coffee shop and a $230,000 grant to build a Trips Cabin at the Tufts Mountain Club (TMC) Loj. In addition, TMC has agreed to lower the cost of an overnight stay at the Loj, making the cabin even more accessible to Tufts students.
The remaining recovered funds will be invested in a Student Activities Endowment. I am recommending that this endowment be established within the university. Because of the controversy surrounding the lack of transparency of the Tufts endowment, I believe that investing in Tufts will give the Senate more leverage to advocate for transparency while allowing the TCU to enjoy the same long-term returns Tufts receives. In order to ensure adequate student input in this decision, however, this year's TCU presidential election ballot will feature a non-binding referendum advising the Senate on whether or not the student body supports this investment. While reconciling oversight of the funds and sufficient returns with the problem of transparency has been challenging, this endowment will allow the recovered funds to live on in perpetuity and benefit the TCU for generations to come.
The Treasury has worked tirelessly to maximize the benefits that this year's budget has had on students at Tufts. When, in the face of the economic crisis, University President Lawrence Bacow's office stopped co-sponsoring student programming, the Senate stepped in to fill the gap, disbursing approximately $30,000 in co-sponsorship to student groups. This fund benefited 32 additional groups and events that might not have otherwise received those funds without Senate's intervention. These included the Institute for Global Leadership's EPIIC Symposium, Inter-Greek Council's Block Party, the Tufts Mock Trial team's national tournament and six different culture shows. Our increased ALBO funds have helped students afford other conferences and tournaments as well, and we have been able to ensure, through an increased buffer fund for fiscal year 2008, that the impact of the economic crisis was minimally felt by student organizations and their members.
Beginning next year, we will also be implementing plans to give social programming groups more flexibility in funding by creating the Programming Board Allocations Board. Chaired by the TCU Associate Treasurer, this structure will promote coordination among the budgets of Programming Board groups, allowing for continued creativity and innovation in social programming at Tufts.
Just last week, the Allocations Board completed its Fiscal Year 2010 budgeting process. After six weeks of work, the Senate on April 5 approved a $1,394,300 budget for over 140 student groups. This budget represents the Senate's commitment to improving life on this campus in three major ways: First, for the first time ever, this budget includes proper cost estimates for social programming events, such as Fall Ball, Winter Bash, Spring Fling and other Council II groups, which are social organizations on campus. We have based budgets on the actual costs of the events, rather than on the previous year's budget. While this has resulted in a net increase of almost $100,000 for social programming budgets, it will prevent these groups from going into deficit in future years and ensure that the Senate can continue to afford to support vital programs.
Second, it represents major strides in Senate's support for Tufts' Club Sports program. These budgets represent a net increase in Senate's funds for club sports, as well as a transfer of martial arts groups and their budgets, to the Athletics Department. This ensures that the existing club sports programs are better financed and that the TCU is no longer responsible for the oversight of contact sports that student government is not qualified to administer.
The club sports initiative also establishes a mechanism for both recognizing new club sports in the future. Beginning in the fall, there will be a club sports committee, consisting of representatives from the Athletics Department, the Office for Campus Life, the TCU and the club sports themselves, to distribute funds among the club sports, as well as to determine which new club sports should be recognized within the resources available.
The final initiative included in these budgets is the Senate's goal of eliminating ticket costs for on-campus student-sponsored events, a goal ratified by the Senate last week by a 25-1 vote. Through this initiative, all tickets for on-campus events sponsored by TCU groups and presented or performed by students -- such as culture shows and Tufts Dance Collective -- shall be free. This goal reduces the cost of participating in social programming at Tufts in a real, tangible way.
Between the recovered funds, greater ALBO support for student groups, the Student Activities Endowment and the most generous budget in TCU history, this has been one of the most active and successful years the TCU Treasury has ever had. Some may say that our national recession is a bad time to spend so much money, but I am confident that we have been fiscally liberal, but also fiscally responsible, fulfilling our charge from the student body to spend their money most effectively to their benefit. While we as a Senate have spent more money than ever before, we as a Senate have honored our promise to the student body to be responsible, and responsive, stewards of their money better than ever before.
It has been my honor to preside over the Treasury during this pivotal year. I want to thank Associate Treasurer Lauren Levine and Assistant Treasurer Aaron Bartel for their dedication and assistance from the transition, to their leadership on ALBO, to the day-to-day paperwork in the Treasury that goes unnoticed by the Senate and the student body. I want to also thank the members of ALBO for their time and dedication during this year's budgeting cycle. Their hours of work have resulted in unprecedented achievements for the Treasury, and for that we must all thank them.
On a personal note, I thank the Senate and the student body for the opportunity to serve on the Senate these past four years and as Treasurer this year, and I hope that all we have accomplished together will continue to benefit the Tufts community for years to come.
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Matthew Shapanka is a senior majoring in political science. He is the outgoing Tufts Community Union Treasurer.
