The Chanticleer’s 2013-14 funding was unfrozen at the Duke Student Government senate meeting Wednesday night.
The student-coordinated yearbook has an annual budget of $74,150 as passed in Spring 2013. This was cut from almost $100,000 in years past, said junior Rodolfo Baquerizo, Chanticleer treasurer.
“We are not going to be able to give a yearbook to every single senior that graduates,” Baquerizo said, adding that seniors can sign up on a website to opt in to receiving a free yearbook.
Executive Vice President Nikolai Doytchinov, a junior, noted that it is a stipulation of the statute the allocated funding that The Chanticleer “be shipped free to seniors who requested them.” He added that if not all seniors who request books were able to have them shipped, the leadership would have to come back to the Senate in order to get that approved.
As of Wednesday night, 559 seniors have signed up to receive a yearbook, said Chanticleer layout editor Grace Shin, a senior.
After printing 2,500 books last year, Shin said that there are 900 left to give to underclassmen at a release party Friday.
Baquerizo noted that this surplus was planned, but the budget would not likely allow for this in future years.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Ray Li, a junior, said that at many peer schools, all students—including seniors—pay full price for student yearbooks.
Shin was not aware of other peer schools that subsidize the cost for seniors.
“There is the possibility that many seniors won’t sign up because they just don’t value this,” Baquerizo said, but he continued to emphasize that The Chanticleer does not have enough money to meet all of its goals.
Shin noted that, if they need to, the yearbook’s leadership will look for additional alternate sources of funding, such as advertisers.
Each yearbook costs about $80, Baquerizo said.
Vice President for Residence Life Jacob Zionce, a junior, motioned to unfreeze the funding in its entirety.
The motion passed.
In other business:
The Duke Business Society was granted $4,000 from the programming fund for its event, Pillars of Wall Street Financial Valuation Workshop.
The six members of the Young Trustee Nominating Committee Selection Committee were chosen.
The Spring election timeline was finalized. The Young Trustee election will be held on Feb. 6. The election of the DSG president and executive vice president will be on March 4, and the elections of DSG vice presidents, senators and class council members will be on April 10.
Doytchinov gave a first reading of the new Young Trustee bylaw.
“Most of the changes are just cosmetic,” he said, adding that there are, however, some substantive changes.
If passed, no member of the YTNCSC or YTNC would be able to run for Young Trustee—a rule that has previously been enforced without formal documentation.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.