Funding for a musical to take place over interterm was requested in the amount of $10,000; the AAS constitution sets a $10,000 limit to a budget allocation before it must be sent to the student body as a referendum for approval. The senate supported allocating the requested money to the musical, but was divided on whether the musical constituted a "single event," as described in the constitution, or a "series of events" which would not require a referendum.
Senator Jessica Rothschild '06 adamantly supported sending the issue to referendum. She maintained that the musical should be considered as a single event. She contended that although there would be more than one showing, any particular student only attends the musical once. "We have to remember the spirit of the [constitutional] amendment," she said.
However, a suggestion was made to drop the budget allocation to less than $10,000 in order to avoid lengthening the process with a referendum. Senator Adam Bookman '08 made a motion to fund the musical's set construction instead of the lighting rental, which brought the allocation down to $9,800 and eliminated the need for a referendum.
Treasurer Richa Bhala '07 responded that the motion was feasible because the BC had arbitrarily chosen line items to recommend. The BC had chosen line items from the musical's budget request solely to make the total allocation around $10,000. "It ended up being $10,100, but it could have easily been $9,800 or $9,900," she explained.
Bhala expressed her belief that the musical, which will be prepared over interterm, is more like a series of events than a single event. "It is like a sports season for singers," she said.
However, Senator Andrea Gyorody '07 pointed out that the senate should not reduce a budget allocation merely to avoid bothering students with a referendum. Senator Janice Djabatey '07 agreed. "This is a nice way of engaging the student body," she said.
After a vote, the senate unanimously decided to fund the musical, and later discussed the question of referendum after the announcement of new business. Senator Joshua Stein '08 did not think a referendum was appropriate. "The debate is not over the appropriateness of the amount, but over semantics," he said. Senator Patrick Benson '08, however, felt the issue should be sent to the students. The senate decided to view the musical as a single event and will present a referendum to the student body.
The senate also listened to Haynes' annual address to the AAS. He gave advice to both new senators and veteran members. Haynes said that the AAS holds incredible power and should use it wisely. "Amherst is unique in that students get to sit in on every single committee [of the administration]," he said.
Haynes also reminded senators of ethical concerns and the need to respect fellow senators. "Loudness does not constitute knowledge," he said. "Sometimes we don't hear everything." Haynes ended on an encouraging note. "Remember to laugh, try to have fun and do what's right," he said. Haynes received a standing ovation for his address.
Judycki also spoke about cell phone service on campus. He stated that in late October or early November, the IT department will be holding a Web-based survey of what type of cellular reception students have on campus.
He noted that IT has been speaking with vendors on what could be done to improve cell phone reception, and that the College has already allowed Cingular to put a tower on Physical Plant's smoke stack, which has improved reception for Cingular users on campus.
Finally, the senate swore in eight new first-year members: Jackie De La Fuente '09, Jelani Lundy-Harris '09, Anneliese Koehler '09, Shantel Watters '09, Nicholas Pastan '09, Michele Tran '09, Ayyappan Venkatraman '09 and Paul Nielsen '09. "I hope to make a difference," said Nielsen after the senate meeting.
The senate also held a meeting on Oct. 6 to discuss whether to fund a budget request of $2,100 from the BSU to allow students to attend the Million More March in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 14-16. The senate voted to approve the budget.