Senators discuss gym for Ross, mid-year budget report

During its Feb. 13 meeting, the Student Government Association (SGA) discussed the possibility of opening a small gym in Ross Commons. Members also reviewed the mid-year budget report.

Citing concerns about the distance of the gym for students who live in both Atwater and Ross Commons, President Riley O’Rourke ’12 explained that an alternate gym space would also help to alleviate some of the high traffic common at the Fitness Center.

O’Rourke currently envisions purchasing a small number of machines and a few free weights. He will meet with Ross Commons administrators this week to discuss the possibility of using a space currently labeled as a “game room.” Ross Commons Representative Anna Esten ’13 explained that the space remains almost permanently locked due to concerns about vandalism, and is therefore widely unused by Ross Commons students.

The new gym would be controlled through keycard access and open to students only. Since there would be no attendant present, students would use the machines at their own risk with the benefit of not being restricted by set operating hours.

O’Rourke estimates that the total cost of this addition would be $20,000 to $25,000.

Although O’Rourke emphasized that the Ross space would be the SGA’s first priority, upon the successful establishment of a small gym in Ross, other spaces for consideration would include the Atwater Library, Battell Hall basement and Forest Hall basement.

SGA Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair Will McConaughy ’11 presented the Senate with a summary of the mid-year budget report.

McConaughy reviewed the publications precedent that was set earlier this fall, which now tailors the amount of funding student publications receive to the type of product they publish. McConaughy explained that this was to account for the different operating costs of publications based on color printing and publishing frequency.

In addition to the budgeted money that is allocated to student organizations for the fall and spring, the SGA currently holds a reserve fund of approximately $400,000. Although this amount is due to a dramatic increase in the Activities Fee for students that took place years ago, any funding granted by the SGA that remains unused by student organizations at the conclusion of the academic year also returns to this fund. SGA members are currently debating the best uses of this fund.

At the conclusion of the meeting, O’Rourke also introduced the idea of permanently writing into the budget the cost of keeping the Davis Family Library open 24 hours a day during the week before exam period. Although the College funds the extra operating hours during exam period, the SGA currently funds the week prior out of its own operating budget.