University Union returned to campus this week to newly renovated office space to the tune of nearly $35,000 after a financing code forced it to use its profits, rather than carry them over to fund future programming.

The renovations include new carpeting, desks, Apple computers and two computers that will be open to all students, said UU president Dennis Jacobs.

‘The first thing that people are going to say when they see this office is, ‘Oh my God, my student activities fee paid for this,” Jacobs said. ‘That’s absolutely not the case.’

UU’s renovations have drawn attention to an old Student Association code that allows student organizations to carry over profits from their programming from semester to semester, but not from year to year.

Profits must be spent before July 1. After that, any unspent profits are returned to SA for reallocation during Finance Board hearings the following semester.

An organization’s allotment of funds from the student activity fee must be spent on programming. Any unspent allotment money also returns to the pot.

SA President Travis Mason suggested a new plan that would allow organizations to keep their profits, while still returning unused student fee allocations to the pot for redistribution.

‘Anyone should be able to keep what they profit,’ Mason said. ‘It’s going to help make their growth; it’s going to help their legacy.’

Mason’s plan will require a change to SA code, and therefore needs approval by the student body.

The current rule stems from University Accounting protocols that close the financial books after June 30, Mason said.

UU concert chair Adam Gorode emphasized the positive effects of a change in the rules, saying he would rather use the profits from Block Party to bring in bigger artists the following year.

‘The rules just need to change,’ he said. ‘It was use it or lose it.’

Both Jacobs and Mason confirm that the renovations were paid for by UU’s events profits. UU still returned between $25,000 and $30,000 of its profits, Jacobs said.

Though he would rather have seen the profits go to more programming, Jacobs said the office was deeply in need of renovations, especially more computers to help keep the records and finances of each branch organized.

Mason said he understands the need for an organized and manageable working space to improve the quality of the organization.

SA’s offices have been worked on twice, and Mason is currently trying to find funds to renovate the rest of the student organization space in the Office Greek Life and Experiential Learning office next year, he said.

The profit rollover plan is just one of Mason’s proposed funding changes, introduced to the SA body Monday. Under the new plan, UU would be funded on a yearly basis, which it has been petitioning to do since last year.

Published on August 29, 2005 at 12:00 pm