Thumbs up to Associated Student Government for decreasing its operating budget for next year to $43,000 as compared to this year's $88,000. The money saved will mean $45,000 more for student groups.
This decrease ensures the $44 ASG activities fee every undergraduate student pays is spent where it should - for student group programming and activities - and not on hefty bureaucratic costs.
The body did not have to make many sacrifices to make these cuts. About $35,000 was saved by eliminating the now-defunct student legal services office. Furthermore, the body has been budgeted drastically more than it spends with about $20,000 used of the current budgeted $88,000. In the end, most cuts won't affect the way the body is run.
But there were a couple increases, most noticeably for this new $5,000 "senate project pool" that will give the new ASG president, executive board members and Senate flexibility to fund projects.
Thumbs up to Alex Robins for attempting to recite "Fahrenheit 451" from memory last Saturday. Learning to recite anything can be difficult, from running lines for a show to mastering a sonnet for that hottie in Intro to Reading and Writing Poetry. But when it comes to reciting an entire novel, well, that's just impressive.
Robins' performance, though not flawless, proved the importance of the novel he recited, which presents a future totalitarian state in which books are banned. In the end, the protagonist, who initially works as a fireman, i.e., someone who burns the books, joins a renegade group who memorize books as a form of resistance. Robins may not have delivered the perfect performance, but he gets an "A" for effort.
Thumbs down to the empty ex-Barnes and Noble building. The space has been empty since Barnes and Noble moved out a year and a half ago. The city has tentatively secured a buyer but cannot say who it is, though they hope the space will be filled by next year.
With the many things that Evanston lacks, it doesn't seem hard to find something great to fill the space. Evanston only has one grocery store that students can walk to, and it's the lovely organic Whole Foods, which is a bit pricey. How about putting in a Trader Joe's? Or a snazzy new club? Or, dare we say it, a bowling alley?
2008 Woodie Awards
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