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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Collis budget exceeds $125,000 each year

How the Collis Student Center's lounge became a television haven for so many lazy Dartmouth students is the result of a large budget allocated to the center each year.

The Collis budget, estimated by Brenda Goupee, student life business manager, to be approximately $125,000-145,000 annually, is carefully divvied up each year to meet current student requests and needs.

She told The Dartmouth that each year the budget is allotted to a myriad of maintenance, repair and supply demands, and "hopefully, the financial process stays evolving and growing according to each year's requests," Lawrence said.

The Collis Center has made a variety of notable changes this year, including the relocation of the game room to two distinct locations, addition of extra television sets to the student lounge, and the creation of Poison Ivy this fall, a club advertised as "Dartmouth's premiere night club," though the club is also the only night club in Hanover.

Accountable for promoting the use of the Collis Center, the staff that decides how to utilize the budget has also allotted funds to keeping the pool tables newly felted, helping to create a comfortable atmosphere in the Big Green Bean coffeehouse, providing CDs and technical equipment for performances in Collis Commonground and organizing funds for the general operation of the building.

The range of requests is varied, and the Center is able to gather student input from a variety of outlets. Because the professional staff has a lot of interaction with the students, said Lawrence, a lot of general feedback is considered regularly at the Center.

Lawrence further commented that the Collis governing board, primarily made up of managers in the building, also makes sure to stay in tune with students' needs and reports back to the staff about their desires and ideas for change. Students occasionally call, send blitzes or stop by to express opinions.

Students surveyed were not critical of the Center, though some said there are additional services they would like to see at Collis.

Many students expressed a desire for more tables outside, better usage of the upstairs space and another lounge-type room in which to relax.