Judiciary Council (JC) Chair Andre Deckrow '06 brought the proposal for the recognition process to the floor. Since the process is outlined in the bylaws and is not part of the constitution, it will go into effect immediately. For a new organization to be recognized by the AAS, it must now submit a mission statement, leadership/organization chart and a statement of non-discrimination consistent with the AAS constitution.
Clubs will also be required to participate in the orientation club fair, register with the school, hold at least one scheduled meeting per semester and submit a list of events held during the previous semester to the JC. In the list of requisites, the JC also included a clause that states that clubs may not charge event entrance fees to College students without special permission. The old rules stated that no club budgeted from the Master General Fund (MGF) could ever charge admission.
These new requirements put a greater responsibility on clubs to be structurally organized. The old requirements were more vague about exactly what standard clubs had to meet in order to be recognized. Certain provisions from the old requirements do carry over into the new ones: clubs must solicit student opinions and they must provide quality programming for the campus. Clubs must also be visible, open and inviting.
The AAS also approved changes to the constitution concerning the powers and duties of the Treasurer. These changes will be sent as referenda to the student body for approval. The revisions extend the period before which the treasurer must present the next semester's budget recommendations to the senate. Additionally, the divisions of the budget into the MGF, discretionary funding, appeals and original club budgets will move from the constitution to the bylaws, allowing the senate to change them without a referendum vote of the student body. These changes will be on the school-wide election ballot Thursday, Oct. 2.
The senate also approved slight modifications to the bylaws concerning organization funding. Only AAS-recognized clubs may submit initial budgets. Also, all carry over from the end of each semester will be redistributed with the following semester's discretionary fund. This change is intended to avoid difficulties caused when money is put into clubs' accounts and they do not spend all of it. This money was formerly inaccessible to the AAS. These changes will not go to the student body for referendum.
First-year students will also elect eight senators in the election Thursday, and juniors will vote for one. There is also an opening for a senior senator, but there are currently no candidates for the position.
Treasurer Paris Wallace '04 presented the requests for and allocations of funds for the week. The Men's Project was given $90 to attend an event, the Model United Nations (MUN) team was allocated $1,355 to cover the expenses of a trip to an event and the Amherst Christian Fellowship was given $500.
The Bi-Semester Affirmations organization requested $850 for the catering of their bi-semester religious services and dinner. The Budgetary Committee (BC) had initially recommended the denial of this request.
Tammy Stewart '04 and Julian Michael '04 argued that the BC should fund the meal as they have in the past, citing that Hillel dinners are given funds. Wallace said that it is BC policy to recommend funding for food only when it is central to the event, as is the case with Hillel dinners. "Going back on this policy would open the door for requests to flood in," said Wallace.
Stewart and Michael claimed that the food provided for the services is, in fact, an integral part of the ceremony. In the end, the AAS agreed, revising the budget to approve the allocation of $850.
The Amherst Students for Informed Political Choices (ASIPC) also requested $492 to purchase campaign materials promoting three of the candidates in the upcoming Democratic presidential primary elections (former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, Senator John Kerry and Senator Joe Lieberman). The BC recommended denying funding. Senator Matt Vanneman '06 motioned to reconsider the decision, which prompted heated discussion. The AAS eventually denied funding.
Senator Ethan Davis '05 argued vehemently against allocating funds to the ASIPC. "The Amherst Student Government should not be in the business of funding campaigns," said Davis.
Senator Molibi Maphanyane '06 disagreed, arguing that informative postings would benefit the community. "Anything that raises student awareness about politics in a non-biased way is a good thing," he said. Since the information would only concern the Democratic primary, Maphanyane argued that the information would in fact be non-biased, as it did not pit Democrats against any other party.
Davis raised the issue of the nearly $1,000 that remains unaccounted for from the 2003 spring formal fund. Senators believe the money remains in the account that was set up for the formal, but the AAS plans to investigate the matter.