Monday evening Student Government Association met to review presentations of Think Big! applicants and Vice President of Finance Kyle Boyd immediately brought up cutting travel from funds SGA will cover.
Boyd proposed that spending $2,000 on a trip to affect 100 students or $500 to affect 5 students has little effect to other organizations as to the money that could be spent for on-campus events.
Boyd said that “five years ago when we [SGA] introduced travel it was an experiment, but it kind of stuck around.”
A vote of 36-0 removed travel funding from the SGA Constitution.
The first applicants to present their Think Big! idea were Assistant Director of Alumni Service Haley Fowler and junior Anna Lee Carter from the Association of Future Alumni. The idea the presented was to “bring a tradition to life” by having a three foot statue of the official UCA ring placed in front of the Student Center.
AFA gave SGA two options: the first option estimated at $40,000 to install a three foot bronze statue on a concrete pedestal; and, the second option estimated at $50,000 to create a three foot mirror polished bronze statue on a concrete pedestal. The first option would take about six months to complete and the second option would take around 18 months to finish.
Rick McCollum from the Housing Department presented to the senate the idea to install an amphitheater. The amphitheater would be located in the Student Center Courtyard consisting of three phases of installment. The first phase would cost $103,620 and would be finished by the end of August. The second phase would cost $59,565 and the third would cost $44,495 at a total of $222,680 with the engineering fees of $15,000 included.
McCollum could not promise that the stadium would not end up with another donor’s name on the entrance; however, he did say that every penny would be spent.
“Should any of the provided funds from SGA not be used they will be returned,” McCollum said.
The Housing Department will fund $25,000 if it is selected.
Hank Phelps, Director of the Student Center proposed a plan to improve the Ida Waldran Auditorium. His “idea” would cost a total of $11,635.
“The stage needs to be recovered, because it is not all level,” Phelps said.
The auditorium also needs four new stage lights and a follow spotlight. Recently the University bought a new curtain, but it is too long and heavy to pull back. The curtain needs to be hemmed nine inches, he said.
Graduate student Chad Dickinson was the last to present. He proposed the idea of a disk golf trail being put in the Jewel Moore Nature Reserve. There would only be nine holes and it would not interfere with the Biology department or the possible Greek Village, he said. It would be the only disk golf location within 30 minutes of UCA and would cost around $1,100.