The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) released its 2010-2011 budget at its Council meeting last Wednesday. The budget projects a total deficit of $6,739, but that number relies on all AUS events breaking even for the rest of the year.
AUS President Dave Marshall expressed his confidence in all the year’s remaining events after Frosh breaking even, despite the fact that the AUS Events portfolio does not traditionally break even, and that AUS Frosh posted an exceptionally large $30,000 deficit this year.
“Traditionally the Events portfolio does not break even, and we don’t expect it to,” said Marshall.
“The majority of the [AUS] deficit always comes from Frosh,” he said.
The AUS is not cancelling any events this year – highlighted by Oktoberhaus and Red & White – but Marshall expects to compensate for the extra Frosh losses by planning for those events long in advance and minimizing their losses.
“It’s a realistic budget,” said Marshall. “We’ve been very conservative with our revenue estimates… . The deficit can only decrease.”
The AUS projects $4,055 in revenue from tabling in Leacock. Eight hundred dollards of that revenue is coming from table contracts to private companies, with the majority coming from traditional partnerships with Kaplan and Princeton Review.
Marshall said that student groups are not charged to use the tables, and are always prioritized ahead of private companies.
“Companies approach us all the time [about tabling],” said AUS VP External Todd Plummer. “We’re not trying to make a profit.”
Plummer identified Future Shop as a company that has signed a table contract with the AUS, adding that Future Shop will be using the space to recruit student workers for the holiday season.
“We don’t hunt them down,” said Plummer. “It has nothing to do with the budget.”