On March 16, the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS) overturned an existing opt-outable Development fee of $8.57, which it has been collecting for the past three years.

The fee was overturned at the ASUS Annual General Meeting, which gave all Arts and Science students in attendance the freedom to vote on its future.

Over the past three years, the fee payments accumulated to slightly more than $180,000. ASUS spent approximately $40,000 of the accumulated funds renovating the Red Room, a space donated to ASUS five years ago by then-dean of Arts and Science Bob Silverman.

Incoming ASUS president Rico Garcia put forth several suggestions prior to the start of the meeting, including the construction of an “Alpine Tower”—a rope course proposed for West Campus to be used for team building exercises both within the Queen’s community and at large.

A number of objections were raised concerning the feasibility and value of such a construction, and rightly so. The substantial cost associated with building and operating the rope course makes it an idea not worth pursuing.

ASUS should consider directing the surplus funds to a project that has a more immediate and tangible benefit to the Queen’s community.

It’s important to recognize that ASUS executive teams—like many other top student positions—have only one year in power.

This makes it difficult to push through initiatives that involve a substantial amount of long-term planning and troubleshooting.

In the face of a large budget surplus, the executive team faces considerable pressure to accomplish something “big”—making one large project all the more alluring.

Garcia showed a commendable willingness to assess the value of the fee into question by putting it to a student vote.

The concerns raised at the ASUS annual general meeting by members-at-large are valid.

In light of its outstanding surplus of funds—and lack of a clear plan to dispose of them—it would be inappropriate for ASUS to continue to collect student monies.

At the same time, the ASUS executive needs to ensure that the funds are properly spent, particularly because the amount of unused money is so large.