After discovering $122,000 in rolled-over Student Union funds last September, little progress has been made toward spending this money on student-initiated projects. In spite of the fact that the Student Union is technically in control of the money, the University administration has acted to limit for which projects the money can be used.This year's Executive Board (E-Board) has pledged to continue working to have the money spent on student projects but has had a difficult time.

"This year's E-board is very dedicated to freeing up the money and allocating it to a project for student enjoyment," said Union Director of Public Affairs and Communications Nicole Karlebach '04.

Once the money was found last year, the then Executive Board members took on the responsibility of collecting student ideas for ways to spend the money.

That Executive Board collected ideas in a number of town hall style forums. After an April town hall meeting last spring, the E-Board compiled nine different plans to spend the money.

"Last year, we held a number of town hall meetings to gauge student opinion on a number of capital improvement projects," said Union President Joshua Brandfon '05, who served last year as Union Treasurer.

According to Brandfon, after the plans were compiled, the Executive Board planned on holding a campus-wide vote to choose one of the nine plans.

This fall, after meeting with Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy, the E-Board was told that a number of the original proposals would not be viable while a number would be acceptable options.

"I met with Vice President Eddy and went through each of the proposals; she informed me of which ones we would be able to present and told me which were not financially or logically feasible," Brandfon said.

Karlebach added, "We were waiting for approval of the proposals from the Administration. There was a delay because Peter French had a medical issue and so the proposals were tied up for a longer time than expected."

Vice President for Students and Enrollment Brian Walton clarified the Administration's decision: "Some of the proposals that were put through - the true cost was higher than proposed because of issues with upkeep that is unfunded."

One of the capital projects approved by the administration is a proposal to install a rock gym in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. According to an E-Board press release, Jesse Salk '04, Matthew Travis '05 and the Brandeis Outdoor and Mountaineering Club proposed that "as part of a conversion of the squash courts, the five current courts would become three International Courts, and the remaining space would go to building an artificial rock wall for climbing and bouldering."

The other approved plan is for a game room in the space left vacant when the bookstore relocated to the Shapiro Campus Center.

The game room proposal, as outlined by Jasmine Vallejo '03 and the Fun@Brandeis Group in February 2003, calls for the creation of "a space for students that is relaxing and fun."

According to the proposal, the game room would include storage space for clubs (in the old game room space), video game stations, a plasma screen displaying my.brandeis.edu announcements, pool tables, ping-pong table, dartboards, air hockey, an "instant" photo booth and a juke box/karaoke area.

The game room proposal also called for the Student Services Bureau to manage the new space and to have outdoor equipment such as sleeping bags, tents, snowshoes, skates, and lawn games.

Currently, the E-Board plans to hold a referendum where the full student body will vote on which administration-approved plan they prefer.

"We are going to have a referendum in late October," said Karlebach.

Brandfon echoed this sentiment.

"Senior Vice President Eddy has said that it is her responsibility to push (the allocation of the funds) forward as fast as possible. We would expect it to happen soon after the referendum."

According to Karlebach, the referendum will give students three different plans to choose from, structured in two separate votes.

First, students will choose between the two plans approved by the administration by voting either for the game room proposal or for the climbing-wall proposal. Then, in a separate vote, students will vote on whether they believe $15,000 of the total should be allocated to a monument remembering Ford Hall.

The Ford Hall proposal, initially submitted by Nicole Amerteifio '04, Andrei Khots '05 and Daniel Mauer '06, has since been picked up by Class of 2006 Senator Edgar Ndjatou '06. The plan calls for a monument to be constructed in or near the campus center.

According to Ndjatou '06, this monument is sorely needed.

"What these students did, it affected me as a freshman and it's something dear in my heart. It should not be forgotten because of all the great initiatives which came out of (the Ford Hall takeover)."

Ndjatou '06 also expressed concerns about the size and placement of the memorial, as he feels that the current tribute is not prominent enough.

"We're hoping to have a monument that will stand out, not just a plaque."

One of the options rejected by the administration was BEMCo's plan to purchase an ambulance.

According to Karlebach, this proposal was rejected because it would have imposed a recurring maintenance cost on the University.

According to the press release, the plan was requesting $40,000 that would cover "equipment, training, insurance and maintenance."

The plan included "finding a donor for the actual ambulance, saving the University between $60,000 and $120,000."

Another plan submitted to the E-Board that was rejected by the Administration was a plan to, according to the E-Board's press release, "study possibilities to phase out the use of Social Security numbers on campus."

The legal status of the money has been a consideration throughout the process, though the Union government has remained in control of the money throughout.

"The rollover fund has been isolated and is not currently something the treasurer and president touch. No Student Union president or treasurer has touched that money in 15 months," said Walton.