Union Answers Must Come From Above
Another week, another sector of Oxford student life loses money - or at least so it seems. The revelation that the Oxford Union could be £74,000 in deficit is not catastrophic for the Society, but this time it's with our own money - money that some seventy per cent of us have shelled out.
The huge loss is the product of several terms of sloppy management and its release now was only to be expected by those who had seen the cost of social events and personal expenditure become uncontrollable.
It was not to be expected, however, by the ordinary students whose £150 membership fee goes to funding weekly nights of extravagance such as the President's Drinks events of last term. This ignorance is part of the reason why the deficit was allowed to become so large in such a short space of time - the secrecy of the internal workings of the Union was held to be more important than the admittance that there was a problem.
Charlotte Keenan has made a more modest estimate of the loss at £20,000, which she has described as "negligible" when set against the Union's annual budget, but she should be careful of being so complacent. Her very conservative estimate is still a loss that is unacceptable within a six month period, and one which sits very unfavourably with the profits of the previous year. £74,000 equates to some 500 membership fees which the Union would never dismiss.
The openness with which the Society is discussing this now is to be welcomed, and the steps that have already been taken to rectify the situation are prudent. But the solution to this problem must come from its origin - an acceptance of bad management must come from the very top.
31st Jan 2002