Group votes against steep budget cuts for yearbook

Students eager to reminisce about their Duke years with a yearbook can temporarily breathe a sigh of relief.

At its meeting Wednesday, Duke Student Government came close to cutting more than half of the budget of Duke’s yearbook, The Chanticleer, during a discussion of the 2011-2012 Student Organization Finance Committee budget. A proposal to cut the publication’s budget by $41,000 ultimately failed by a vote of 17-20.

A smaller cut of $30,000 also failed, and the Senate tabled the discussion of The Chanticleer’s budget—but not without debate.

“There is no reason why we should be giving $80,000 to the yearbook when we have things like Facebook,” said senior Ben Bergmann, a senator on the athletics and campus services committee.

Bergmann proposed cutting The Chanticleer’s budget to eliminate unnecessary spending for a publication that he said was obsolete and geared only toward the senior class. He added that there is a significant number of yearbooks left over each year because of a lack of student interest in the publication.

Others agreed about the diminishing value of the yearbook, with one senator suggesting that The Chanticleer should only be free for seniors.

But sophomore Chris Brown, vice president for athletics and campus services, said The Chanticleer fills an important need for Duke because it documents events and issues for every student regardless of their class year.

“The only thing that makes it significant for senior year is the small section in the back with senior portraits,” Brown said. “I got a yearbook earlier, and it is awesome. They do a fantastic job.”