Growth is good, but growth for the sake of growth is irresponsible. Dropping $80,000 just to bring in a “big time” band is irresponsible. Dropping $80,000 that comes from the students is even more irresponsible.

In an effort to bring a major artist (rumored to be the Gym Class Heroes, but not divulged in the bill) to campus, the Associated Student Government spent $80,000 of student fee money, straight from the reserves that fund clubs in case of emergency.

ASG passed Senate Resolution 11-04, in an 11-8 vote, and subsequently Campbell Board Joint Resolution 11-01, early in March.

The idea behind the bill is pretty simple. Drop some dough to bring in a “big time” band and generate interest among students. In other words, show that CMU can hang with bigger schools.

ASG, in part, is taking advantage of what will likely doom this concert: student apathy. If it wants to a “big time” concert so badly, do due diligence. Generate some community interest. Not the “yeah man, that sounds rad” interest, but the interest that leads to a big number on a check. Better yet, don’t spend $80,000 on a band worth about $30,000, according to ASG meeting minutes.

Here are some numbers to put into perspective how big this chunk of change is:

– $80,000 funds ASG’s budget for a year, and then some.

– It cost a little over $5000 to bring in The Cab, another top 40 band.

– Both The Cab and Andy Grammer saw a less than expected turnout.

– Clubs, organizations, and student groups can find better uses for that money.

What is the most dishonest about the whole situation is that ASG used a loophole to do it. The Fee Allocation Committee (FAC), which usually gets first look over bills in involving Student Controlled Reserve Fund (SCRF) dollars, shot it down. ASG then got it passed through Campbell Board without going through FAC because it doesn’t clearly state in the ASG bylaws that ASG has to pass a bill using reserve SCRF funds through FAC. An entire organization founded to check the power of ASG is now rendered useless because of a loophole.

That $80,000 belongs to the students. CMU is too big for its britches if it thinks pulling from reserve accounts to fund yet another concert is a good idea. These loopholes need to be closed. ASG shouldn’t have sole pull over student fees. There needs to be checks in place to keep the senate from throwing an $80,000 temper tantrum.