Tropicana Student Organization (TSO) is a group of residents that contributes ideas and votes on how to spend a budget of over $35,000. Some of the $150 activity fee that is paid at the beginning of the year goes towards this budget. TSO approves how this budget is spent. All residents are invited to participate in TSO and run for positions such as President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Quad Representatives at the beginning of the year.
By defintion, a security deposit is money paid in advance of a transaction to protect seller or renter against damage or non-payment. The $350 dollar payment at the beginning of the year is refunded, less a $50 cleaning fee, if the room is in the exact shape as it was before the residents moved in. A Room Condition Report (RCR) is done at the beginning of the year by our summer staff, as well as when each resident moves in. The purpose of the RCR is to document any damages that were made to the room prior to any residents moving in. This prevents money getting deducted from the security deposit that were not the fault of the residents. The amount refunded from the security deposit depends on the extent of damages caused throughout the year. A damage in any location of the suite is divided by the amount of residents that live in the suite. For example, in a 6-person suite, damage in the living room (a common area for all 6 residents) is divided by six, while a damage in the double bedroom is divided by 2 (amongst the people that live in said bedroom). Unless a resident takes responsibility for any damages, each person in the suite is charged from their security deposit for a damage.