Last week, the Student Government Association granted $6,000 in contingency money to the Office of Student Life for the buses to accommodate students who wanted to see the men’s basketball team in the Division III Final Four in Salem, Va.
SGA president David Sommers said the money was strictly for the buses.
“In their contingency, OSL only contingencied for transportation of two 55 seat charter buses to take students from Augustana College to Salem, Virginia and back,” Sommers said.
Sommers said the OSL speakers presented their case well.
“OSL had some very nice speakers come in, and they properly articulated what they wanted,” Sommers said. “They definitely articulated that this was a campus-wide event and that we don’t get the opportunity to support our team like this every year.”
The whole package was $8,000 and included bus travel and hotel rooms for students to stay in.
This decision was made the night before the game that the men’s basketball team would lose, denying their chance at a Division III championship.
Since the decision had to be made quickly, there wasn’t much time for deliberation.
“I think the biggest thing was that this was a time sensitive contingency, and I think the senate was willing to say our men’s basketball team was worth the $600,” Sommers said.
According to Sommers, OSL was able to fund the trip for students to travel to the championship games in Salem last year but needed some help this year.
“Last year, OSL paid for everything: transportation, hotels, and gave students a really good price,” Sommers said. “This year they had allocated money to different areas and reached out for some collaboration and help.”
When the men’s team lost to the University of St. Thomas, $600 of the $6,000 was a non-refundable down payment.
Luck paid out for OSL who received the entire $6000 back due to them not signing the contract.
What arises out of this situation is the fact that SGA and OSL potentially gambled with contingency money due to the fact that they could have lost money when the men’s basketball team lost.
Sommers said the decision was not a gamble.
“I think that we didn’t gamble, we took a risk,” Sommers said. “I think that the benefit of supporting our campus and supporting our team outweighed the risk of (losing) $600.