The first-ever "green" Last Day of Classes has caused its planning committee to fall more than $15,000 into the red.
The University Union Board-Duke University Union's oversight body-approved a motion Monday morning to loan approximately $12,000 to the LDOC planning committee to subsidize its debt of $17,000, student leaders said. The proposal will go to the DUU executive board for final approval today.
"We did anticipate that [an environmentally friendly LDOC] would cost more, but we didn't anticipate it would cost this much more," said LDOC Committee Chair Merri Estren, a senior.
At its April 14 meeting, DUU approved a funding request from the LDOC committee to allocate an additional $5,000 to help finance $17,000 worth of overspending. This lowered the total debt to $12,000, which DUU now will withdraw from its reserve fund.
The DUU reserve fund holds back-up funds that carry over annually. It is only tapped "in absolute emergencies," said DUU President Zachary Perret, a junior.
"The reserve fund has never really been used outside DUU-this is the first instance of it," he added.
Perret noted that the LDOC committee is expected to pay back the loan by Fall. The LDOC planning committee is independent of other student groups and operates on an annual budget of approximately $90,000 funded by the student activities fee. Estren said the committee also solicits donations from local businesses and campus groups for additional funding. This year, DUU and Campus Council contributed $15,000 and $25,000, respectively.
LDOC 2008 cost the committee $25,000 more than had been budgeted, and DUU subsidized that amount last year, Estren said.
Given the recent economic turmoil, finances are tight and alleviating overspending has become especially difficult, said Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a sophomore.
"Historically, there has been an understood precedent that it has become acceptable to run over-budget," Temple said. "But in the past, there have always been pockets of money to pull from. [This year's] economic reality made it impossible to do so."
This year's $12,000 loan will come directly out of next year's LDOC budget, decreasing the amount of funding immediately available to next year's planning committee. For now, student leaders are discussing how to address the situation and minimize overspending.
"That's something that's a frustrating reality that we have to deal with," Temple said. "It'll be a much more deliberate and conscious decision about how the committee is run next year and much more communication between DUU, Campus Council and the LDOC committee."
Overspending for LDOC 2009 stems from "going green" as well as additional production costs, Estren said. She noted that the organic cotton LDOC T-shirts cost "several thousand more dollars," and a middle agent hired this year to facilitate contracting musical agents upped expenses by an extra "few thousand dollars."
The committee rejected consideration Monday afternoon to charge students for LDOC T-shirts in order to cover costs.
"We decided that it would not be fair to the Duke students," Estren said. "We thought that this would cause an uproar because that tradition is not something we wanted to change."
Estren added that unforeseen costs, such as Ben Folds' request for an additional grand piano and tuner, cost the committee another $2,000.
"There hasn't been an LDOC committee that hasn't gone over, but it doesn't make it OK that we are," she said.
Perret said additional oversight is necessary from organizations more experienced in planning large-scale events-such as DUU and Campus Council-to guide the planning committee. He added that the two groups are working to have more say in the committee's decisions so the event is more of a collaborative effort.
"The people that are able to give oversight don't have the authority to give oversight. That needs to be fixed," Perret said. "The clarity of how the budget was working wasn't made public to me and other people that were in a position of oversight."
Although Estren said she favors the idea of DUU and Campus Council representation on the committee, she noted that the LDOC committee also functions to offer students interested in large-scale events an opportunity to be involved without being a part of a large campus organization.
Estren added that to prevent under-budgeting next year, the committee may consider charging for T-shirts, decreasing the number of acts in exchange for fewer, larger performers or eliminating a middle agent.
"This year should be used as an example for next year's committee to try to really overestimate the costs that you think you're going to incur," she said. "It'd be great if next year is the first year LDOC doesn't go over budget."
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