Financial Worries Plague Campus Bar
How informed are most students when it comes to what their student fees are going toward? This is a question I have asked myself a couple of times throughout my first year at Brandon University. How many students actually sit there and look at the breakdown of the fees and see who gets what, and how much? I ask these questions for one very important reason; Do you think the BUSU should be spending large amounts of your student fees to keep SUDS around ?
I’ve come to realize that the majority of students around campus are not aware of the current financial situation of SUDS, the Student Union Drinking Spot. Last year in the first term (September 2008 – January 2009), SUDS had managed to rack up a deficit of over $46,000. In the second term, without any start-up costs, and a watchful eye on spending and labour expenses, SUDS were able to cut the 2nd term deficit to $2,000. With SUDS ending the year with such a large deficit, it was up to BUSU to come up with the cash to pay the bills. $48,000 of your fees paid to BUSU, went to save the financially unstable bar.
Now fast forward to September of this year, it was a new year and an opportunity to start fresh. As of January 2010, SUDS has accumulated another deficit of over $47,000. So unless every student does there part and drinks a case of beer in SUDS, BUSU is again going to have to step in and pay off SUDS’s bills with our student fees.
Now, I’m not a math or business major, and would be lost without the use of a calculator, but by my calculations in the last 12 months of operation SUDS has created a debt of over $95,000. That is over $1,800 a week loss in SUDS. This leads me to my second question to students, are we beating a dead horse?
Grant Bastone, BUSU’s Vice-President of Finance and Chair of the SUDS Board, said that SUDS has not made money in over 8 years, but that they were working closely with SUDS Management to address the current issue. Is a student owned bar or lounge a luxury that students are fine paying this much money for?
This problem is not unique to our campus though, it is a growing trend among universities across Canada. In 2007, The Garwood Lounge, which is the Bar/Lounge owned and operated by the Dalhousie Students’ Union, was in a similar situation. In 2007, The Garwood Lounge was facing a deficit of $40,000, and like SUDS this was not the first year where the business was operating at a loss. Dalhousie Student Union Vice President of Student Life. Kris Osmond said that the Students Union at the time had to “think outside of the box”, and come up with a solution to their current situation.
“We couldn’t keep losing that amount of money each year, so through meetings with the students, faculty and Garwood staff, we cuts out expenses, changed the atmosphere and have attempted to create an environment more pleasing to the everyday student.” Osmond adds that the Garwood still does not make a profit, but it is a much more acceptable loss than before. “We don’t really expect to make money, but we want a place for the students to be able to relax.”
Today it is much cheaper for a student to drink at home, or in their dorm room than it is to have a couple of beers in SUDS. Tuition and the overall costs of living have gone up. Why do we continue to “Beat this Dead Horse”? What would happen if one day SUDS closed its doors for good? Do we need or want SUDS? There are no simple answers, but I present this question to all students, faculty and other Quill readers... Is there a simple solution to this issue? What can we do to save SUDS, or should we even bother? I believe that it is important that your ideas, concerns and comments are heard. I encourage everyone to send their thoughts to the SUDS Board members, Ben Lockhart or Miriam Ratini, who are the Students at Large on the Board, at lockhabj53@brandon u.ca, miriam_ratini@hotmail.com or drop them off at the BUSU office located on the 2nd floor of the KDC Building.
BUSU Pres. Stephen Montague was unavailable for comment at press time
