Pub gets UWSA bailout despite 'obscene amount' owing
By Michal Tellos
News Editor
August 26, 2009
 On August 4, the UWSA Board of Directors (BOD) approved a $20,000 loan to the Pub in order to open in the fall.
This recent bailout raised the total loan amount for the current fiscal year to $32,000, down from $55,000 last year.
The UWSA grants the UNIWIN Pub Inc. - the legal name for the pub - a loan that is called working capital, and the goal is to at least break even, that is, to pay the loan back.
Each year, the pub has not been able to pay the loan back, and the total debts are somewhere near $800,000.
On the surface, this does not seem like a profitable business model, but vice-president of finance Aaron Campbell believes that it is not that simple, he argues that it’s all in the perception.
Campbell argues that if the Pub is viewed as a service to the students then it is successful, but if it is viewed as a business, than it can be considered less successful.
But in Campbell’s opinion, the Pub is a little bit of both.
“The Pub should be a fun and safe environment for students, but I don't see any reason why the Pub can't at least break even, or in an ideal scenario turn a small profit to start paying back the obscene amount of money that it owes the students,” he said.
On an optimistic note, Campbell explained the various ways in which Nic Gesuale, the Pub’s manager since last year, has improved the student watering hole in every facet.
Campbell says the changes will continue to occur this year as well, with an aggressive marketing plan as well as increased programming in the Pub.
Campbell believes that these plans will help decrease the Pub’s dependence on UWSA financing, and that the Pub is poised to have a successful year in general.
“I am confident in the management and strategic initiatives...and I feel that the Pub has the potential to have the best year it’s had in a long time,” he said.
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