Hillel asked for $3,250 to fill the gap in funding speaker Sol Urbach, a Holocaust survivor and one of the original Jewish people on Schindler's list. The budgetary committee (BC) recommended not to allot any money to pay for Urbach's speech.
AAS Treasurer Paris Wallace '04 explained that the BC decided not to contribute any funds because an original budget for this event had been submitted earlier in the year and there appeared to be a lack of preparedness.
"We were doubting the organization of the event," he said. "They have since pulled it all together." Wallace also mentioned that there is less then $10,000 remaining in the discretionary fund.
Hillel co-president Jessica Rothschild '06 expressed her desire to provide educational and innovative programming for the student body. "We have not had a Holocaust speaker in over 20 years," she said. "Students should have the chance to learn about the Holocaust."
Senator Mihailis Diamantis '04 motioned to allot $2,500 to fund the Holocaust speech. Senator Matt Vanneman '06 questioned the group's ability to raise the remaining funds.
Vanneman also reminded the senate that the proposed allocation of $2,500 would be the second highest amount the senate approved for a speaker this semester behind funding for a lecture by Al Sharpton.
Vanneman said the allocation seemed too high because students would be unlikely to recognize Urbach by name. He unsuccessfully motioned to reduce the proposed allocation from $2,500 to $1,750.
The senate approved the motion to amend the budget to include $2,500 for the Holocaust speaker.
The BC recommended that no funds be allotted to ACPB for the annual spring concert.
ACPB requested a total of $7,800 to supplement funds from its own budget. Wallace explained that the BC's decision was due to this semester's increase in ACPB's original funds.
"[Including the $7,800,] it would be $47,000 to ACPB," said Wallace. "Our total budget is only $300,000. [ACPB] overspent its budget and we have been paying for their events," he said.
Wallace criticized ACPB's lack of co-sponsorship for other groups' events. Furthermore, he noted that the spring concert would still take place if the senate did not provide the $7,800.
Senator Ethan Davis '05 added that he did not want the senate to provide the extra money because allocating the additional funds to ACPB would empty the discretionary fund for the semester.
ACPB Chair Linden Karas '06 defended the group's decisions. "We are functioning on a limited budget," she said. "We have co-sponsored a lot of events, hosted by a lot of different organizations."
Karas also mentioned that the program boards of other comparable schools receive a lot more money than ACPB does.
Senator Luke Swarthout '04 suggested that the discrepancy was due to geographical location.
"The fundamental difference between us and schools like Williams and Dartmouth is that they are in the middle of nowhere," Swarthout said. "We have other schools around who also provide programs."
Diamantis motioned to amend the budget to allot $100 to Paul Warner '04 for his spring break trip to Honduras. Warner spent spring break doing charity work through Mercy House.
During the AAS meeting on March 8, the senate allotted $100 to Jake Maguire '07 for the same trip. "Based on precedent of giving $100 to Jake Maguire, we should give $100 to Paul," said Diamantis.
Wallace argued that giving Maguire money had been an error. "Sending Jake [to Honduras] was a big mistake," he said. "We basically paid for his food for spring break. We paid for something for Jake without knowing fully what it was."
The motion to amend the budget to give Warner $100 failed.
Dan Reiss '05, a member of the Committee on Education Policy, reported that there will no longer be a maximum number of students who can preregister for a class. "You can sign up for as many as you want," he said. Under the new system, professors will drop students from classes as necessary once the semester begins.
Ian Shin '06, a member of the Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, reported that the committee is trying to reduce the number of "purely athletic admissions."