Hofstra clubs feel the pain

By Ariadna Armenta

University budget cuts are hitting the arts at Hofstra. Club organizers are now trying to make do with less.

For Hofstra Concerts, an active club on campus, it's a struggle to find the necessary money in order to fund its annual Music Fest.

"We really can't move forward with artists especially until we know how much money we're working with," said Jackie Finney, club president, 21.

While the university does allot money to clubs and organizations through the Student Government Association, it's still not enough to pay for all of the shows and events the club wishes to do.

"It's really first getting a budget, getting how much money it’s going to take to put the entire show on. We can't do it all on our own so we get together with entertainment Unlimited and SGA and we approach other clubs. We see who wants to help sponsor. A lot of it is running around trying to get clubs to co-sponsor, to donate, looking around for outside sponsorship."

The SGA Appropriations Committee holds yearly meetings during a "Budget Weekend" in April in order to allot money to clubs. By the end of the semester, however, SGA often runs out of money to give. Clubs must look to outside sources in order to meet their needs. In the case of Hofstra Concerts, its third annual Music Fest has proven to be quit challenging financially.

Finney further explains that while the school and SGA are helpful in funding their events, they are encouraged to gain outside sponsorship.

"...they want to see that we're working hard too; we're not just expecting people to throw money at us," said Finney. "We got $2,000 from Toyota and they're going to be bringing cars on campus."

Along with seeking sponsorship from companies, other on-campus clubs like Entertainment Unlimited, as well as from school departments like the Dean of Students, Concerts also creates their own fund raisers. During the past year they have partnered with the Westbury Applebee's to host an "Applebee's Night" in which people can present a flier and have 10 percent of their bill go towards the club.

In addition, the dozens of small shows, known as coffeehouses, allow for further funding opportunities.

"At the end of the day, I take 15 percent of unrecorded merchandise that they have sold; of their profits obviously," said Cindy Buczkowski, 20, treasurer of Hofstra Concerts.

The club has also seen its annual budget go down in comparison to previous years.

"We do get a budget of between $80,000 and $90,000 and that's our budget for the year to put on whatever we need to put on," said Buczkowski. "As far as I know it used to be a lot bigger before I got here. But it has gone up since my freshman year."

In fact the Concerts budget has gone up slightly; only $3,000 in the last two years.

"We could always use more money, but I guess everyone could," said Buczkowski.

For all the trouble of organizing shows and events as well as finding the money to do so, members claim it to be well worth it. Finney, who is a business management major, has found Concerts to be especially helpful for life after college.

"It's taught me a lot about the business in general; about how to do a contract and cover all your aspects and plan better. It's very time consuming but it's something I enjoy so I'm learning a lot from it and I'm meeting people."