In the MUSG President/Vice President primary debate back in March Calandriello, emphasized his opinion that the MUSG Reserve Fund should be spent, highlighting an investment in Norris Park as a possible avenue to spend the money.,”

Despite running on the ticket of spending the Marquette Student Government Reserve Fund, MUSG President Dan Calandriello, along with the rest of MUSG, has yet to spend any of the $185,726.43 fund.

The MUSG Reserve Fund is an account to maintain excess money remaining from the annual operating budget, which has accumulated over the years, according to MUSG Legislative Vice President Brock Banks, a College of Arts & Sciences junior.

In the MUSG President and Vice President primary debate in March, Calandriello, a College of Business Administration senior, emphasized he believed the MUSG Reserve Fund should be spent, highlighting an investment in Norris Park as a possible avenue to spend the money.

"The Reserve Fund is the students' money and it should go back to the students," Calandriello said during the debate on March 6.

Since being elected, Calandriello has encountered several problems with investing in Norris Park, namely that MUSG Financial Policies may prohibit investment, depending on how Norris Park is developed.

After realizing the problems with funding the Norris Park project, which Calandriello was aware of at the onset of this semester, Calandriello and the rest of the current MUSG staff have not formulated any plans to give the money back to the students.

According to Banks, MUSG is "currently researching a few possible funding projects for the Reserve Fund," but said "these ideas are currently in the research stage and, thus far, no concrete funding proposals have been developed."

Some of the possible projects include assisting student organizations with the "critical need" for transportation to community service sites and space for student organization activities, according to Banks.

However, these possible projects have problems of their own, according to Calandriello.

"A lot of projects are not a quick fix," he said. "If we invest in community service vans and transportation, then we will have to deal with upkeep, repairs, etc."

According to Assistant Dean of Student Development Jon Dooley, the Reserve Fund has been approximately $185,000 every year for the past few years, and the most money MUSG can spend this year is about $140,000 because of a Financial Policy that requires at least 10 percent of the annual operating budget, roughly $450,000, be retained.

The difference between past years and this one is that previous MUSG officials have "spent about what they've been putting in," Dooley said, whereas current MUSG officials have yet to formulate a single developed proposal of funds.

Dooley said the fund's primary purpose is as a "rainy day fund" in case MUSG goes over budget. It has also been used in the past as a way to allocate money to projects that better the Marquette community and benefit Marquette students.

"In the past, reserve fund money has been used to partially fund Axis TV screens in the AMU and parking structures, to partially fund the flag display outside of the Raynor Memorial Library, to replace projectors in the Varsity Theatre and to purchase basketball equipment and fencing for the basketball court north of O'Donnell Hall," Banks said.

MUSG is "not just jumping out and throwing away money," Calandriello said. "We're taking our time and working hard to make sure we find the best and most effective avenue of spending the students' money in the MUSG Reserve Fund."

Still, the question remains: how much time is needed?

The current MUSG Executive Board staff was elected in March and now, eight months later, there still are no developed proposals for spending the money.

Nonetheless, Calandriello insists that his stance on the reserve fund has not changed.

"The money is the students' money from the student activity fee and it should go back to the students," Calandriello said, "But we don't want to spend the money foolishly. We want to spend the money wisely and avoid spending money just to spend money."

Students are urged to contact their senator if they have any ideas for possible projects that would benefit the student body.

"MUSG senators are willing to listen to any ideas constituents may have including how to spend reserve fund money," Banks said.

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