Gooding explained that the athletic department only minimally funds club sports and the increasing costs of many of the club teams has put a strain on the allocations of the senate. With the help of Lieber and Gooding, the senate tried to better understand the situation.
Twelve years ago, the wrestling team was eliminated. The ski team and the crew teams were moved from the varsity level to the varsity club level. It was at this time that the student government began to supplement these teams.
The College wanted to cut the athletic department funding and Gooding had to decide what to cut, he explained. "The decision at that time was purely financial," he said. "We decided to eliminate these sports rather than cut funding across all sports."
The athletic department spends approximately $22,000 for the rugby teams, crew teams and ski team, primarily for funding. The teams must apply to the AAS for the remainder of their funding.
Other NESCAC schools have larger athletic budgets than the College has, reducing similar funding difficulties. "Williams' [athletic] budget is more than one-third larger than ours," said Gooding. He doubts the solution to the chronic lack of funding for club sports will come in the form of an increase to the athletic department's budget.
Lieber pointed out that the College spends money for athletics when it is necessary. "When there is a perception that we are lacking next to our competitors, there is a willingness to infuse resources into the program," he said.
Gooding suggested the solution might be for teams to "attempt to be more creative in raising money." He acknowledged that it would be a challenging task.
The senate debated issuing a statement regarding President Anthony Marx's proposed incentive program designed to reward students who would give up their parking permits.
Senator Matt Vanneman '06 proposed a statement conveying the senate's lack of support for the plan. Senator Ethan Davis '05 voiced his opposition to the plan, claiming that there was a great possibility for cheating. The senate rejected the proposed statement.
A by law amendment to create a Bradley shuttle committee was proposed. Senator Rania Arja '06 thought that the committee would ensure the longevity of the program. However, other senators believed that the program had not been going on long enough to warrant the creation of a permanent committee. The senate did not create the committee.
The student body voted on Tuesday, April 13 to elect students to AAS Executive Board. Students elected David Scherr '05 for vice president with 85 percent of the votes (331 votes), Ryan Smith '07 for judiciary council chair with 51 percent of the votes (227 votes) and Ian Shin '06 for treasurer with 89 percent of the votes (357 votes). Students voted Monday in a run-off election for president between incumbent Ryan Park '05 and current Vice President Elan Ghazal '05 and for secretary between Roslynn Graves '07 and Ali Hassan '05.