It only comes along every 125 years, but celebrations for Texas A&M’s 125th aniversary are on a tight budget, organizers say.
A student coordinating committee, comprising student leaders from many facets of student life, was given the task of organizing anniversary events geared toward students, but some of the lavish plans were canceled because of cost and safety limitations.
“We received less than $30,000 in funds, and decided to sell T-shirts in hopes it would help fund projects even more so we would not have to charge admission to the 125th events,” said Veronica Saenz, chairwoman of the committee and a junior finance major.
“It’s a celebration, students should just be able to come and enjoy it.”
Plans for a fireworks display were dropped because a 10-minute display would have cost $10,000, a sum the committee could not afford and still adequately fund other events, Saenz said.
“What we did not realize was that all of the little things add up. For instance, cleaning up the drill field after the event is costly, so, the fireworks were pretty much out of the question, funding-wise,” Saenz said.
The Oct. 3 festivities also are restricted by safety concerns, said Luke Altendorf, a committee advisor and associate director of the Memorial Student Center. Fireworks may have disturbed city residents, and would have posed a fire hazard because several fuel tanks located near the proposed display site, Altendorf said.
Safety concerns also grounded plans for a pancake breakfast, because health regulations would have required Food Services to prepare the food.
“Mainly, our biggest hurdle was food service being stretched past capacity, there are only so many workers who would have been able to help with a pancake breakfast,” said Darren Pierson, risk management coordinator for the committee and president of the Graduate Student Council.
The celebration is scheduled to last all year long, and funding for later events is still under consideration.