Freshmen can look forward to bigger events in the Williams Village dorms thanks to an increase in funds.
The amount of money allocated to Williams Village out of the student room and board fees this year totals around $10,000, according to Director of Residence Life Paula Bland.
Every residence hall receives a different amount of money for its residence life programs. The allocation is based both off of what the dorm needs and what events the staff and hall councils for each dorm propose, Bland said.
Literally every aspect of dorm operations comes out of those freshmen room and board fees, Bland said. Residence halls must use that pool of money for everything from salaries, office supplies, training and the Buff Bus—but Williams Village makes for a special case.
“Will Vill had some pretty ambitious ideas this year, which meant that it would require a little extra funding,” Bland said.
If any dorm should receive extra funding, it should be Williams Village, according to Bland.
“With its not being on main campus, sometimes I think people don’t always think about kids in Will Vill, because whenever an event is held on main campus they have to make the extra effort to get there,” Bland said.
Maria Hoffman, the area coordinator for Williams Village, said that the money will go towards equipment for things like gaming systems, TVs and projectors for movie screenings. The money will also go toward supplies for events such as open mic nights, Octoberfest and pumpkin carving contests and paid shows with comedians, magicians and an acappella group.
“We are trying to create small, regular programs, especially ones for after dark on Thursdays and Saturdays, since the UMC already has after-dark events on Fridays,” Hoffman said.
The goal of the residence halls this year is to focus on programs that are consistent and reliable so that students will have more of an opportunity to go to the event and hopefully to build something like a following, Hoffman said.
“We want to have something that is more like having kids come and watch the game on TV, and we’ll provide some food,” Hoffman said. “We might not have 100 people showing up, but we’re trying to get them to return more with small focus groups.”
Willy Evans, a freshman living in Darley North, said that he thought bringing more activities out to Williams Village was a great idea.
“I’d never even think of doing one of those things on main campus because it’s a waste of time to go all the way over there,” Evans said. “But when they’re held here, it provides a lot of incentive to go.”
Evans said that he has gone to a few of the events put on at Williams Village this year, including a recent barbeque.
“I’d definitely do more stuff like that, as long as it’s fun,” Evans said.
Abraam Fam, a freshman open-option major living in Darley North, said that while he agreed he might attend one of the events if it was fun, he thought that the fees could be going someplace more productive.
“Before we do things like this, why don’t we fix the elevator first?” Fam said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ana Romano at Analisa.romano@colorado.edu.
