The Association of Amherst Students (AAS) will vote next week on the $100,000 donation proposal set forth by AAS President Nick Pastan ’09 and AAS Treasurer Peter Tang ’10 on Monday, Feb. 2. A sum of $30,000 will be used to create the Supplemental Student Programming Fund while the remaining $70,000 will go to the College’s financial aid program through the Annual Fund. The AAS is in sound financial condition, as its treasury has no relation to the College’s endowment. Instead, it is drawn from the student activities fee included in each student’s tuition. In addition, the AAS surprisingly received far fewer funding requests in the fall semester than expected; and only $10,000 out of a $40,000 maximum was allocated to the Program Board for the 2009 Spring Concert.

Over the past few weeks, President Tony Marx has stressed the importance of upholding the aspects of the College most valued by students. The AAS donation would make great strides in helping to do just that. The $30,000 for student programming, which was previously funded by the Discretionary Fund administration, would enable the College to continue programs that are fundamental to the Amherst student experience. The Supplement Student Programming Fund also contains a sunset clause, which safeguards the continuation of the fund should economic conditions change. In the event that the $30,000 is not exhausted by the end of the spring semester, the fund will carry over to next year, and the AAS can continue to add additional money to the fund at any time. However, if the economic crisis is resolved and the College no longer needs the additional funding for student programming, or if the AAS financial situation takes a downward turn, the funding can also be cut off at any time.

Marx has also emphasized the fact that the College will not cut back its financial aid promises and recently adopted a grant-only policy. The potential contribution of $70,000 to the financial aid program is clearly not intended to provide a large percentage of this funding, due to the fact that current tuition is set at $46,760 per student for the 2008-2009 school year. This aspect of the donation is more of a symbolic gesture. It would demonstrate that the student body agrees with Marx as to the utmost importance of the financial aid program to the College. It would also show that Amherst students support each other, a concept integral to the sense of community that exists among the student body.

The student body has already begun to notice of the many cuts the College has been forced to make. Significant changes to Valentine Dining Hall are the most obvious — not to mention the most widely contested and dissatisfying. These cuts, however, are likely to expand into other significant areas, including departmental budget cuts of up to 10 percent. This will, in turn, cause an increase in class size and a decrease in the variety of classes offered.

The AAS has found a way to help preserve, as best it can, some of the fundamental student experiences at Amherst. It has also found a way to voice its support for the President’s goal of upholding financial aid promises and its importance amongst the student body. For these reasons, we strongly urge the AAS to pass the proposal, and the general student body to take the time to vote on the referendum in support of the AAS proposal. Otherwise, student life at Amherst as we know it is bound to change.