Concerns Regarding Break the Record

News Staff - Tue Nov 01, 2022

Dear Students,

We have heard your concerns and criticism regarding Break the Record (BTR) and are taking this seriously. That is why we presented a full budget before the Audit Committee and are transparent about the cost and other expenses of BTR. We would first like to clarify some of the questions surrounding the event.

BTR was an event organized by your University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) in partnership with the University of Alberta and the Graduate Students Association. Almost three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we heard concerns about the impacts of isolation and loneliness on the student body. Part of our mission is to create community: we organize BTR and many other events to help bring the UAlberta community together.

Two-thirds of BTR was paid for by the University, a GSA contribution, and sponsorships: the total cost of the event was $145,000, and the UASU's contribution was $49,320. The UASU covered the cost of BTR to keep it a free and accessible event for students to attend, and a detailed cost breakdown is available here.

We have also heard concerns about the environmental impact of this event. The dodgeballs used were borrowed and returned, or purchased and resold at a lower price to other student groups on campus. The remaining newly purchased dodgeballs will be used during the next five Campus Cup dodgeball tournaments. Each participant present at the event was given one shirt and afterwards, the remaining shirts were free to be taken by students.

Serving students and improving campus life is at the core of our mission, and as executives, we are primarily responsible for ensuring we keep to that mission. We are committed to improving, and sharing your concerns and criticism as you have done is an integral part of how we are held accountable but also how we improve. We are working on creating better processes to gauge student interest and keep in line with what students want. We recognize that students have different interests and want to ensure that we're organizing various events you want to see on campus.

Your UASU Executive

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