Letter to the Editor: In defence of SocSci's Welcome Week spending

Re: “What a welcome costs” by Julia Redmond [Published March 7, 2013 in News]

By Anne Marie Montpetit, McMaster Social Sciences Society VP Finance

Dear Social Sciences Students,

Due to many questions regarding Welcome Week spending, the McMaster Social Sciences Society (MSSS) wants to ensure all students are able to see exactly where funds were allocated.

During this year’s Welcome Week, we greeted 1215 Social Sciences students to McMaster, and did all that we could to make their experience memorable.

The MSSS has included all expenses incurred for and during Welcome Week, including but not limited to:

i) Welcome Week Representative training and appreciation

ii) Shinerama Toga Party Fundraiser (run for all Welcome Week Reps prior to Welcome Week);

iii) Faculty Day

a. Unexpected expenses were incurred on Faculty Day due to last-minute rain accommodations were out of our control.

iv) Faculty Night

v) Social Sciences “Swag”

a. The MSSS included expenses for purchasing Social Sciences promotional material (Swag) given out during Welcome Week, and for the remainder of the year, as well as next year.

b. The MSSS strives to prepare for year-long initiatives, purchasing all promotional materials at once, to take advantage of bulk cost savings.

It is important to note that the released number by the Welcome Week Review Subcommittee for Social Sciences was incorrectly reported.

The McMaster Social Sciences Society spent $48,542, broken down into spending of $28.95 per student (not including the $11 per student for each MacPass sale). This compares to the following faculties’ spending: Arts & Science: $757, $0.30 per student; Business: $19,804, $26.94 per student; Engineering: $18,015, $7.75 per student, Health Sciences: $4934, $15.68 per student; Kinesiology: $3284, $5.84 per student; Nursing: $13,037, $87.76 per student; Science $17,650, $7.23 per student; Humanities: $33,421, $42.39 per student.

Visit themsss.com, or contact me at [email protected], for more information.