While participating in dogsled races and polar bear swims, cost is a thought far from many students minds. Yet behind the festivities of Winter Carnival lies a $12,000 budget supplied by Programming Board.
This year's budget closely resembles that of past years' and is divided among the many activities ranging from the polar bear plunge at Occom Pond to last night's opening ceremonies.
The ambitious pirate ship snow sculpture will encompass the largest piece of the budget. Roughly $3,000 funded the entire sculpture, including materials and opening ceremonies.This total represents an increase from last year due to a larger sculpture and more elaborate opening ceremonies.
"This year a lot more emphasis and money has been put into opening ceremonies because the sculpture lends itself well to making a more theatrical opening," Winter Carnival co-chair Whitney MacFadyen '07 said. "There'll be lots of things never seen before."
Despite MacFadyen's control over how the budget's funds are allocated, the costs of each event are largely static across the years.
"At this point most of the costs are pretty much set because the same things happen year after year. We're not changing things around a lot," MacFadyen said.
To those who would question the Carnival's large bottom line, MacFadyen argues that in terms of its ability to build community, the events are relatively inexpensive.
"Considering the amount of student labor, it's one of the least expensive activities for students per output. And it's the least expensive for what students get out of it," MacFadyen said.
In addition to the snow sculpture and opening ceremonies, Carnival's other major financial obligations include screenings of "Peter Pan" and "Hook" and the Polar Bear plunge into Occom Pond. The committee has to pay for the screening rights to the movies and to have Facilities, Operations and Mangement prepare and facilitate the plunge.
There are also a variety of activities hosted by the student activities office which consume a sizeable portion of its budget, funded by student activities fees.
Besides the money from the Programming Board, the Carnival weekend gains approximately $2,000 in revenue through t-shirt and poster sales.
"We spend a lot of money, but typically we get a lot of money back." MacFadyen said.
In another attempt to defray costs, this year's Carnival committee auctioned off old Carnival posters saved from the past 20 years.
"At a cost of five dollars we can't hope to make that much, but hopefully the sale will offset some of the costs," MacFadyen '07.
