Campus Life denied a $3,700 funding request on Sept. 24 from the Deansmen, an a capella group, for the recording of their new album. This marked a startling end to a three-year recording process in the midst of reports from multiple clubs of funding requests being denied.

The club felt caught off guard by this denial. As Deansmen President Miles Hagedorn ‘25 put it, “we would have appreciated an email that funding this year would be different.”

Two years ago, the Deansmen began recording an extended play album of six songs, partnering with Plaid Productions for the final production. The first three songs were completed in 2021 and paid for entirely by Bates Campus Life.

As with the previous three songs, the Deanmen requested funding through Bates Engage on Sept. 20, but were denied on Sept. 24. The Funding & Activities Board (FAB) said that funding the EP required “quite a large sum that does not seem to directly benefit a large majority of the Bates Community.”

The Deansmen were unsatisfied by this response, arguing that releasing an EP was “something that reflects the arts at Bates College positively, connects alumni, and lets community members have a chance to hear high level music being produced from Bates college clubs.”

On Sept. 25, the Deansmen replied to the denial hoping for at least partial funding.

In an email response on Sept. 26, Tangney, student FAB advisor for The Deansmen, requested a meeting with the club’s leadership, saying, “this is a tricky situation and we want to make sure everyone is on the same page.” The meeting did not take place until Oct. 3.

With a payment deadline coming up and late fees on the way, FAB Chair Meredith Tangney ‘27 said the board ultimately decided to fund the Deansmen request, with the stipulation that they will have to pay back Campus Life.

Tangney said, “The Board also suggested fundraising as a potential solution since the Deansmen have a history of successful fundraising initiatives.”

Tangney noted that regularly changing dynamics within the Deansmen may have influenced these difficulties.

“It is my understanding that this situation with the Deansmen occurred due to an internal club miscommunication over several years of leadership changes, and with student leaders graduating every year, some miscommunications are normal,” Tangney said.

One such miscommunication was that Hagedorn doesn’t ever remember being informed about the new club funding model, which went into effect in 2022. While the change in funding has been detailed in the yearly Club Training Modules, the Deansmen have not had to make funding requests, and had not had experience with the new funding model, nor had previous leadership communicated the change.

In previous years, each club received a set budget every year, which was theirs to spend as they saw fit. But in 2022, Campus Life began to hold the money in a lump sum and clubs could request to receive a portion of it via FAB.

Nick Dressler, Assistant Dean of Students for Campus Life, said that the FAB board revised their model to be by-request primarily because of how long and complicated the previous process was.

Tangney added that this issue was ultimately affected by a miscommunication between FAB and The Deansmen. “The Deansmen’s funding was initially allocated to them for a tour, but they repurposed the money for the first payment of their album,” Tangney said. “This meant that FAB was unaware that a second payment would be necessary…FAB/Campus Life does not authorize student groups to sign multi-year contracts.”

The Crosstones, another a capella group on campus, recorded two five-song albums in 2022 and 2023. FAB agreed to pay for three of the songs, similarly to the Deansmen album, and the Crosstones paid for the other two. Tangney added, “The other group [The Crosstones] had a smaller album (i.e. less songs), and was completed in one funding request over one year.”

Tangney added that FAB’s situation continues to change each year, with their budget being affected by inflation.

Hagedorn says that their situation seems to align with difficulties that other clubs on campus are having and acknowledges the difficult position FAB is in as well as their limited resources.

“We appreciate everything Campus Life does,” Hagedorn said, “they have a lot on their plate.”

This story was originally published on The Bates Student on November 13, 2024.