Spring Fling Cancellation

By Meghan Zea /// News Editor 

The final tipping point of Campus Activities Board’s cancellation of Spring Fling came from major budget cuts from the Student Organizations Committee.

Last May, CAB Chair Sierra Adler (’16), sent an email to the student body via The Bark, threatening cancellation of Lewis &Clark’s traditional dance because of instances at last year’s Spring Fling in which students “[were] dangerously intoxicated, stole, vandalized, and started fights.”

Adler said that the fate of Spring Fling depended on the behavior of students at Fall Ball 2014, which would tote stronger outside security forces and maid services. But according to Adler, behavior was not the deciding factor to cancel Spring Fling.

“This year’s Fall Ball was really great,” Adler said. “It was safe and people had a great time. All of CAB is really grateful. But Spring Fling is a really expensive event and we don’t have money in the budget.”

A branch of Associated Students of Lewis & Clark (ASLC), SOC, determines the funding of clubs every Spring for the next academic year.  According to SOC Coordinator Melia Manter (’15), projections of fewer incoming students for the 2014-2015 school year meant that fewer students would be paying the Student Body Fee, which affected the amount of money available for student organizations like CAB.

“We start the deliberations with one large pot of money and individually allocate to each club based off their minimum,’ optimum, the quality of their application, and their interview,” Manter said. “The amount of money we have each year fluctuates based on the projected number of students that will be attending LC and paying the Student Body Fee for the next school year.”

While CAB’s budget for 2013-2014 was $103,000, they asked for an increased budget of $104,800 minimum, $124,000 maximum. After their presentation, SOC voted to cut CAB’s final budget for 2014-2015 by 32 percent, shaving $33,000 off their budget, leaving them with $70,000 for the coming year.

According to their SOC presention minutes, committee members expressed concern over the budget disparity between CAB and other clubs, namely Student Academic Affairs Board. SAAB’s total, final budget was $97,000, though a recent funded resolution from ASLC brought additional $16,500.00 to SAAB’s Tutoring Budget, from the ASLC Reserve Fund. Due to the popularity of SAAB’s tutoring program, SAAB found itself facing large deficits. To help rectify and sustain SAAB tutors for the rest of the academic year, Senate Resolution SP15 SFR001 was passed on Feb. 12.

“Be it resolved, that the Associated Students of Lewis & Clark are dedicated to the continued success of the SAAB Tutoring program and are in full recognition of its benefits,” Senate Resolution Number SP15 SFR001 read. “Be it further resolved, that the Associated Students of Lewis & Clark shall commit $16,500.00 from the ASLC Reserve Fund to the Student Academic Affairs Board.”

However, there are plans in the works to change the SOC allocation process. In any case, due to the major cuts in CAB’s budget and a unanimous vote to eliminate Spring Fling, their solution is to plan multiple smaller scale events throughout the semester in an attempt to diversify CAB’s events. These events include an ice skating rink, Battle of the Bands, and culminates in a carnival held on campus Apr. 25.

For students wondering whether Fall Ball and Spring Fling are cancelled for next year, Adler maintains that it is still up in the air at the moment.

“I can’t say if Fall Ball or Spring Fling will be gone for good,” Adler said. “That’s up [to] CAB to decide in the future and student demand.”