Treasurer Paris Wallace '04 submitted the Budgetary Committee's (BC) recommendations; in total, the BC allocated $15,289, comprising about 16 percent of the fall budget.
Two representatives of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), Ryan Schenk '05 and Amy Cheung '04, appealed the recommended denial of $500 for the speaker's fee for a Colombian activist who spoke to 30 students on Oct. 9.
Debate in the senate centered on the legitimacy of approving funds for groups who request money either after an event has already taken place or only days before an event is scheduled. In defense of SSDP's request, Senator Mihailis Diamantis '04 noted that if SSDP were denied money on the basis of a late request, then the budgetary recommendation to fund "Voices for the Voiceless," an event hosted by La Causa on Homecoming weekend, would also have to be denied its request of $6,000 because the budget was submitted only two days before the event was scheduled to take place. "Consistency demands, justice demands that we defund La Causa [if we deny SSDP]," Diamantis said.
Other senators felt that a precedent ought to be set precluding organizations from asking for funding after an event has taken place, which they believed forces the senate into funding what it might not otherwise. "There's no sacred cow on this bill," said Senator Matt Vanneman '06, meaning it was still possible to deny money to La Causa at that meeting. Vanneman also said that there is no reason that any group should automatically receive money, even if the event, like "Voices," was undoubtedly successful.
After two votes on whether to allocate money to SSDP, the senate finally voted 14-12 to fund the event. Vanneman later motioned to decrease the "Voices" funding to $1,500, the amount recommended in the first BC meeting over a week before the event, but the motion failed in a 23-2 vote.
NOTE, Amherst's student-run intranet group that publishes the online campus directory, handles Planworld and manages The New Athenian webpage, appealed a previous denial of funds by the senate. Carl Angiolillo '04 spoke on behalf of NOTE, expressing its need for $370 for new mapping software that would allow the group to track worldwide use of its services.
The mapping program would be used to tailor the webpages to the needs and interests of Amherst students and alumni across the globe. The admissions office has also expressed an interest in using the information. The motion to fund NOTE passed overwhelmingly, despite the BC's recommendation to deny funding.
Senator Ethan Davis '05 presented a concise report on the status of leftover Spring Formal funds. He discovered that the money remaining is now in a fund to which only Assistant Dean and Director of Keefe Campus Center Sam Haynes has access. The senate voted to request that the money be returned to the AAS rather than allowed to roll over into this year's Spring Formal budget.
Among other business conducted at the meeting, the senate filled the remaining open committee positions. Senator Christina Ryu '07 joined the BC while Senators Luke Swarthout '04, Dave Scherr '05, Rosalyn Foster '05 and Kay Bradley '04 were appointed to the elections committee. Senators Avi Das '07, Marco LoCascio '07 and Noah Isserman '07 took positions on the dining services committee. Isserman also joined the committee on admissions and financial aid. Senators A.J. Korytoski '04, Jin-Young Kim '05 and Jacob Thomas '07 were appointed to the space allocation committee.
The number of senators in the Senior Class Council was further reduced by the Oct. 14 resignation of Arshia Choudhury '04.