Spring Formal in Danger

Expensive Winter Ball drains SPA budgetJoshua Dela CruzChronicle Staff WriterThe Spring Formal is in jeopardy after the Student Programming Association (SPA) overestimated and overspent a large portion of their 2007 – 2008 budget on the Winter Ball.The Spring Formal is an annual event that held in May, but the school year of 2007 – 2008 marked the birth of the first-ever Winter Ball. Sources within the SPA and SGA network say that the budget provided for student events equaled to about $18,000 before it was spent on excess provisions for the Winter Ball. “I know how much they spent on food and the budget was horribly used…also the [party] favor was a food item,” said one sophomore, a multiple club-leader and Ball-attendee. “Me and my date went to White Castle on the way home.”After speaking with Clarenda Sosa, NYIT ‘10, newly-appointed Assistant Chair of the SPA Executive Board and one of the event coordinators for the upcoming Spring Formal, a denial or confirmation could not be reached regarding the supposed 5-figure budget or any-figure budget for that matter. However, when asked if too much money was spent on food, Sosa agreed. According to Sosa, the caterer was too expensive, and someone from the school provided wine, which drove the price up. Sosa added that main course meals were not necessary, but overall, it was a “decent Winter Ball.”Caitlin Verhave, NYIT ’08, one of the planners behind the Winter Ball stated that she had “nothing to do with [catering]” and oversaw the venue’s decor. Verhave mentioned that both NYIT students and outsiders alike were required to purchase tickets to attend the Winter Ball. However, given the losses in catering, the ticket sales did not translate into revenue.“Most of the money that SPA had for the year was spent on the Winter Ball, and now SPA has a very strict budget to work with, not only for the Spring Formal, but for the rest of the events this year,” said Mirette Misak NYIT ‘11, NYIT Chronicle student life editor and event coordinator for this year’s Spring Formal. In spite of budgeting problems, Sosa, who looks to do things differently than her SPA predecessors, firmly stated that on May 7, “the Spring Formal is happening.”