by Kaity Kopeski
Online Editor
A few days ago I walked into a room and posed this question: “What do you think about Junior-Senior Banquet having a $12,000 to $15,000 budget?”
Initial reactions were a bit incredulous.
“Really? Twelve thousand dollars? Where does all that money go? Isn’t that a waste?”
This reaction to hearing the Junior-Senior budget seems to be the norm across campus. Every year, students outside SGA, and occasionally inside SGA, suggest the idea of cutting the budget and donating money to charities.
While next year’s Junior-Senior is still a full year off, the Junior Class SGA officers-elect are already discussing this issue.
Junior Class Vice President-elect Sarah Becker said she would love to cut the Junior-Senior budget and donate to charities. However, making that a reality relies on changing students’ expectations of Junior-Senior.
“Junior-Senior has a big expectation,” Becker said, “The way it is, we can’t change Junior-Senior without upsetting many people on campus.”
These “expectations” include travelling off campus, having a night banquet, and going to multiple venues.
Once you account for all those expenses, the large budget dwindles quickly. According to Vice President of On-Campus Events Olivia Pool, the budget breakdown for last year’s Junior-Senior was this:
- $12,227- Money given by school
- $16,552- Total budget after ticket sales.
- $8,938- Dinner, catering, venue, decor and dinner entertainment
- $4,469- Transportation
- $1,820- Laser tag, rental of basketball courts, rental of skates and a skating rink, hiring of a caller for square dancing and breakfast
SGA was $1,324 under budget.
While the number may still seem large, Pool said for an institution like Bryan, it actually isn’t.
“What do you think the Athletic Department spends in a year? What do you think the school spends cooling our dorms for a day? What do you think we spend on maintenance of the grounds for a month? What do you think that the cafeteria spends on desserts in a year? Why not eliminate any of these expenses?” Pool asked.
“Because they change strength or contribute in different ways to the experience of Bryan College,” Pool said.
In the same way, Pool believes Junior-Senior is an event that has its own irreplaceable value.
Many students don’t know the purpose of Junior-Senior, so they don’t understand why it has a big budget, said Amelia Pool, Olivia’s sister and junior class vice president.
“The seniors have poured out the last four years of their lives and this is a way to say thank you for that,” Amelia Pool said.
She compares Junior-Senior to an engagement ring.
“Junior-Senior exists to be a symbol of value. It’s worth the money,” she said.
Becker said she sees the value of Junior-Senior, but she is still trying to find ways to save money without compromising the event.
One way is to connect with alumni and encourage donations for Junior-Senior, Becker said.
Ultimately, Becker said, her job is to plan an event that students want.
“If we ran a poll and people said we want to go bowling, we would go bowling,” Becker said.
Amelia Pool said she appreciates the students asking questions about Junior-Senior and challenging the “status quo.” Bryan doesn’t want to keep an event just for tradition’s sake.
“Sometimes traditions are irrelevant,” she said. “But right now Junior-Senior is relevant and important.”