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Arts & Entertainment

TRUSU's allots $100,000 for entertainment

Sarah Bruce - Arts & Entertainment Editor

TRUSU’s annual budget allotted 11.7 per cent of their total for entertainment this year.

Entertainment is the third pillar of TRUSU’s policy, Justin Cartwright, vice president internal, said at the annual general meeting on Jan 28., where the total TRUSU budget was announced.

TRUSU understands the importance of academic lectures and participation in the community, but also that there is a student desire for entertainment. Thus they have allotted just over $102,500 from their total budget of over $847,000 for entertainment this year.

Also announced was the cost of the K-OS concert at the Back-to-School barbeque in September.

K-OS cost TRUSU $10,000, plus travel expenses and accommodation, Cartwright said.

TRUSU estimated 3000 people attended the event; however, not all of them were students.

“We recognize a few issues were brought up,” Cartwright said, referring to the portion of the audience that was not students, despite the concert being financed by student fees. A fence would have also cost $10,000 and this is an unrealistic expense that could be better spent on more entertainment activities, said Cartwright.

“We wanted the best value we could bring our membership,” Cartwright said, explaining that other musicians and bands were considered, but K-OS was the best they could bring in for the price.

The decision of whom to bring in for the concert is made in early summer and TRUSU is always available to suggestions if students know of a good band coming through town, Darya Moryakova, vice president finance said.

20 per cent of the budget is given to orientations at the beginning of the semesters and the Back-to-School barbeque event in September. Another 20 per cent goes to guest speakers and the remaining 60 per cent is for concerts and events. TRUSU also announced that another guest speaker will be coming to campus in March.

So far this year TRUSU has brought K-OS to campus, held the largest back-to-school barbeque to date, orientation and the fall kick-start. Also for the first time ever, TRUSU held a winter kick-start at the beginning of January complete with a clubs day, like they have in September, and a dance party to celebrate the new year.

Both the K-OS concert and the dance party were part of the Tunes for Tuition Concert Series. The series is about raising awareness about rising cost of tuition and also about having fun, TRUSU president Kyle Bowman said.

“We are all students, and together we can lower tuition,” Cartwright said.

This semester will end with the Last Class Bash in April featuring a beer gardens.