The Undergraduate Senate might grant the Founders’ Day Ball more money than its original $40,000 allocation.
Ben Schorr, who is co-directing the ball with Residence Hall Association Vice President Amanda Silva, asked for more funds at the Nov. 7 meeting SG meeting.
Due to high catering costs that are affected by the size of the event, the Founders’ Day Ball can either be a smaller affair of 500 people without tickets or it can be expanded to allow for more people with a $20 ticket.
“If we want more people to attend, we are going to need more money,” Schorr said.
Schorr said he would like to open up the event to more people so they can enjoy the event, especially freshmen and sophomores who know little about the Founders’ Day tradition.
Taylor Yeates, the chairman of the Senate’s special committee on the budget, said he and other members are considering giving Founders’ Day additional funds so that the event can be as large as possible.
“We need to be certain that the large expenses involved with throwing Founders’ Day can be covered,” Yeates said. “By moving funds into their account, we can be assured they have a large safety net.”
Along with this appeal, a bill entitled, “A Bill to Reallocate Resources in Favor of a More Robust Founders’ Day,” was submitted to the Special Committee on the Budget at the Nov. 7 Senate meeting.
Schorr wants to have the maximum possible resources for Founders’ Day.
“It is not necessarily looking for a specific amount of money,” Schorr said. “The goal is to provide an event we can get as many AU students to attend as possible, while maintaining the quality of the event.”
The budget committee will make its decision in the coming week, as the bill was tabled for an additional week.
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