The Homecoming decorations in Baker University Center and free activities every year are fun traditions at Ohio University — but costly ones.
Each year the Division of Student Affairs is given a budget to provide activities and decorations for Homecoming Week. The funds come from the General Fee.
This year the Homecoming Week budget was $40,000, which has hovered around that number for the last three years.
As of Monday, $39,390.47 of this school year’s funds had been used, according to documents from Student Affairs.
“The Homecoming allocation from the General Fee is reviewed and talked about yearly by the student General Fee committee,” said Jenny Hall-Jones, dean of students.
The budget is reviewed every year similar to budgets for other departments such as Athletics and the Marching 110, Hall-Jones said.
The funds go toward events such as the complimentary food provided in Baker on Monday from local businesses and decorations.
The OU Alumni Association sponsors its own events during Homecoming Week, but the money doesn’t come from OU, said Jennifer Bowie, executive director of Development, Advancement Communication and Marketing.
“These resources are a combination of association budget provided by the Ohio University Foundation as well as revenue generated from the association’s partnerships, affinity programs and event ‘ticket’ sales to Homecoming Weekend activities,” Bowie said.
The Alumni Association’s Homecoming budget has increased dramatically during the last three years. Its Homecoming budget for the 2011-12 school year was $23,575. The following year the budget was $34,950. This academic year’s Homecoming celebration had a budget of $38,450, Bowie said.
New and larger events were added this year and allowed the Alumni Association to have a bigger budget than in years past, Bowie said.
The Alumni Association puts on the Yell Like Hell Pep Rally and Bonfire as well as the Alumni Coffee Hour. It also provides transportation for out-of-town guests, Bowie said.
The Student Alumni Board operates through the Alumni Association and the funds it uses are a part of the budget the Alumni Association has for Homecoming week, but the board also holds its own fundraising activities to support its activities, Bowie said.
Although Student Senate does not hold Homecoming events for the whole student body, it does provide Student Allocations Committee money to groups such as the University Program Council, which might hold its own Homecoming activities, said Anna Morton, senate’s vice president.
md781510@ohiou.edu
@MariaDeVito13
