Claremont Independent

President Pamela Gann has recently called for some cuts to keep CMC in the black. President ought to be applauded for tackling this issue. We hope that the days of $3200 dollar solar-powered trash collectors and $2000-5000 up front fees for LEED certification are behind us. In palmier times, these expenditures were frivolous. During recessions, they are downright irresponsible. Nevertheless, we applaud President Gann for committing to financial responsibility, however belatedly that commitment may be.

The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College (ASCMC) ought to take note. While Gann has announced budget cuts, ASCMC, by way of Claremont McKenna, has increased student fees from $210 to $235, an increase of 11%. That might not seem like that much, but with 1100 students, ASCMC's coffers grew by at least $27,000 (We were told that money was to provide extra security at our parties – why then are student security guards still necessary?) At the same time that President Gann announced a wage freeze for our faculty, our parties fund has increased. Perhaps nowhere is this lack of priorities more apparent than with respect to the concert for Ludacris, who we are told by a source, cost upwards of $70,000. (This estimate is on the low-end.  At other colleges, it has been known to cost well over $100,000, when all is tallied.)

As of this writing, we aren't sure if ASCMC made a profit of $1000 – or a loss of $2000 on the concert and whether or not that tally includes the so-called "Band Fund," earmarked with this specific purpose of bringing a "big name" performer to Claremont. (Sources within ASCMC inform us that the losses could have been as high as $5000.) But we ought to remain skeptical of any figures ASCMC produces. In the past, performers have resulted in significant losses for ASCMC, with Ciara, in particular using most of $15,000 band fund. To cover the losses from Reel Big Fish, ASCMC held a special vote requiring it to disburse the surplus taken from the fees. Of course we won't know for quite a bit as our Commissar of Fun, Jim Nauls, hasn't completed the accounting.  We haven't figured out just why one man should be doing all the accounting and budget negotiating with Bridges and find ourselves wondering if more independent oversight might be needed.

For the moment, let us suppose that Ludacris were actually profitable. If that were the case, we would be among some of the few schools that brought Ludacris and had some money leftover. Organizers at Central Michigan University and the University of Michigan all lost significant money bringing Ludacris to their campuses.

Juxtapose that $70,000 expenditure with the $10,000 planned to be spent on a commencement speaker. Is Ludacris worth seven times our commencement speaker? Consider past speakers: Henry Kissinger, Edward C. Banfield, Steve Forbes, Ray Bradbury, Governor Christine Todd Whitman, and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Would you trade your spot at graduation for Ludacris? Better still, you won't need a ticket and lunch is free. For many students and their families, you can't put a price on commencement. But then again, you can put a price on commitment.

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