Editor,
I am writing to express my disappointment in the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming for allocating $70,000 toward a high-profile concert in celebration of ASUW’s 100th anniversary, as discussed in the November 29th, 2012 issue of the BI. This allocation and the $170,000 total estimated cost are exorbitant amounts to spend on a single concert, and ASUW should be ashamed of the tawdry leadership exhibited by this decision.
It is irresponsible to spend this much student money on a one-night affair marking ASUW’s “birthday party.” ASUW has an inflated perception of how much students actually care to celebrate the ASUW anniversary and how much they are willing to spend in order to do so.
Some of the arguments used to justify this expenditure included that it would supposedly benefit UW students as, “an experience students will carry for a long time in their memories” (ASUW President Joel Defebaugh). It will not benefit all students, certainly not as many students as the senators believe it will. The artist expected to be a “top 40 hip hop artist” (according to ASUW Vice President Brett Kahler), which is a type of music that numerous students are not at all interested in. Further, for those who will attend, carrying the memory of the event in their minds is hardly worth such a great expenditure.
There are a number of ways in which to spend the excess reserve money that would serve students far more effectively. That $70,000 (or $170,000) would make a nice down payment on a parking garage. If that seems too difficult, supporting Safe Ride or scholarships might be a more useful way in which to spend the money.
ASUW also could give the money to the number of campus organizations whose requests for funds were denied this year. The senators could use the money to help improve the introductory chemistry, biology or human anatomy laboratory classes, which definitely could use improvement, or even lower student fees, which are clearly too high if they provide a reserve fund that is $120,192 above the reserve fund goal of $300,000.
If the senators had bothered to ask UW students, I am sure they would have received countless proposals to improve UW instead of giving thousands of dollars to a top 40 hip hop artist who is, by definition, not hurting for cash.
Sincerely,
Amanda Boyer
aboyer2@uwyo.edu
