AAS Budgetary Committee

The BC just added two new members, Mwanzaa Brown `12 and Katrina Gonzales `12. Mwanzaa is filling a seat that the Senate had until now set aside in order to give the new first-year senators a chance to be on the Committee. Katrina was elected to replace another BC member who recently stepped down. Welcome to the BC, Katrina and Mwanzaa!

Here is a complete list of current Budetary Committee members. Tthe clubs that each member is charged with representing to the BC are indicated in parentheses after his or her name:

Mwanzaa Brown `12
Haley Castro `11 (Affinity)
Katrina Gonzales `12
Philip Johnson `11 (Club Sports, Religious/Service)
Peter Tang `10, AAS Treasurer, ex officio
Charles “Chase” Tanenbaum `09 (Miscellaneous)
Christopher Tullis `10E (Activism)
Yinian “Nic” Zhou `10 (Recreational)
Victor Zhu `11 (Publications)

NOTE: The BC does not actually allocate money; it only makes recommendations for the AAS to vote on.  No award is final until voted on by the AAS at its meeting at 8:30 in the Red Room in Converse Hall.

ACEMS came asking for money to start a new program in which ACEMS members will train other students to perform CPR, allowing anyone on campus to become CPR certified for free. In order to do this, however, a core group of student-instructors would need to get a special instructor certification, which costs $100/person. The BC recommended $1500 to pay for fifteen students to be certified as instructors, and $10 to allow ACEMS to publicize this opportunity to the entire campus, for a total of $1510.

The Amherst Element came asking for money to publicize and buy food for an introductory meeting they were holding to recruit new people to help with the magazine. The BC recommended that they receive $50 for food and $10 for publicity.

Educate! asked for funding for Casino Night, an annual fundraiser that takes place in Val. All students can be admitted to Casino Night without having to pay, but if they wish to buy chips and gamble for prizes, they must pay (proceeds go to charity). The BC was uncomfortable with this event, because the gambling element conflicts with the AAS accessibility policy, which states that only events that are free and open to all Amherst students can be funded. The BC finally determined that Casino Night had two discrete elements—the band/dancing, and the gambling fundraiser—and decided that the AAS could fund things pertaining to the former. Educate! would seek other funding sources for the casino part. The BC voted to recommend $750 for the sound equipment, stage, and lighting for the band, $250 to pay the band, $200 for the post-band deejay, $500 to rent equipment for Physical Plant, and $500 for decorations, for a total of $2200.

Relay for Life requested funding for their Breast Cancer Awareness week programs, included a “Sing and Save” event on the weekend that will feature Route 9 and will have free admission with a suggested donation. The BC recommended funding $75 for baking supplies so that group members could bake desserts for the “Sing and Save” event, as well as $50 for decorations and $10 for publicity, for a total of $135.

THiNK requested funds for a film event. The event was to function not only as the first in a series film screenings that would highlight issues with North/South Korean relations, but would also serve as an introductory meeting to garner new membership, as THiNK had not yet held theirs this semester. The BC thus recommended $7 to rent the movie, $10 for publicity, and then, since this was a meeting aimed at attracting new membership, $50 for food and $12 for eating utensils, for a total of $75.

Amherst Quidditch, a newly formed club team, asked for money to allow them to compete in an upcoming quidditch tournament at Middlebury. Since the Middlebury rules require each team to have uniforms, the BC recommended $100 to facilitate the Quidditch Club’s plan to buy fabric and make their own uniforms. The BC also recommended $100 to cover tournament registration fees, and $10 for publicity, for a total of $210.

The RCs were organizing a fall barbeque for October 31 to offer the campus an alternate celebration of Halloween to the ones at Hampshire and elsewhere. The BC determined that the food that they requested funds for was integral to the event as a barbeque, and that the event itself was justified in that it had potential to benefit the entire student body. The BC recommended $800 for food and drinks for the barbeque.

ACRA (Crew) asked for an additional $20 to cover the cost of a cot for the fifth person in a four-person room. This was the price quoted by the hotel at which they already had a reservation at an upcoming regatta. The BC determined that this additional $20 still kept the cost of the room under the $150-per-four-people cap that the BC enforces for hotels, and thus recommended funding the $20 in full.

The Korean Students Association asked for funding for an organized study group they were planning for what they estimated would be 20 people. They requested $40 for ramen noodles for this event. The BC did not recognize as valid the KSA’s argument that the ramen was justifiable under the BC’s “integral-to-the-event” rule for funding food. The BC declined the request, the consensus being that an organized study group with ramen noodles is not an effective way to celebrate Korean culture on the campus-wide level. The BC recommended $0.

NOTE: The BC does not actually allocate money; it only makes recommendations for the AAS to vote on.  No award is final until voted on by the AAS at its meeting at 8:30 in the Red Room in Converse Hall.

Men’s Ultimate Frisbee came for registration fees for Williams Purple Valley ($50) and Northeast Regionals ($25). The request was funded in full and emergency allocated since the Senate was not meeting until after fall break on the 20^th.

Homeless Connect came for Posters, banners, table tents, and fliers ($50), Hot Cocoa and Tea, (100) Game Supplies ($150), Tables and Chairs from Physical Plant ($70), Sound System Rental ($85), Wings ($25), Fire Pit ($55), and Marshmallows ($50). The first $50 is separated into Publicity and Decorations. $10 was allocated for publicity due to precedent and 30 was given for decorations. Everything else was funded in full and $200 dollars was emergency allocated.

Habitat for Humanity came for Toothpicks ($5), Soft Candy ($30) and 100-150 Prizes ($20). The request was funded in full with emergency funding.

Women’s Ultimate Frisbee came for tournament fees ($175) was funded in full.

ACRA (Crew) came for hotel room(s) ($187.50). $150 was recommended for one room with the understanding that the team could get a cot added to the room for the fifth person.

HOLA came for Publicity ($15.00), paint markers ($7.45). jumbo marker ($2.10), packing tape, ($2.38), mail room installation ($10.21). $27.59 was recommended because the art supplies at the campus center could be used instead of buying new supplies.

Amherst Dance came for 5 guest professor workshops at $20 each. The request was funded in full with an additional $50 of funding for each workshop.

FRAME came for funding for the upcoming issue. The motion was tabled waiting for further information on spot color costs.

Students for Justice in Palestine came for Conference fees for MESA Middle Eastern Studies conference ($480) Hotel rooms during conference( $900) Publicity for three events ($30). $510 is recommended and is going to be allocated by an emergency vote for the entire Senate because the Budgetary Committee cannot emergency allocated more than $200. The hotel rooms were not funded because the group did not know exact number for the cost of each night.

There is discussion over workshop fees and coaching fees. There is debate over whether to raise the coaching fee to $4000 or $4500 and eliminate funding for ongoing workshops

NOTE: The BC does not actually allocate money; it only makes recommendations for the AAS to vote on.  No award is final until voted on by the AAS at its meeting at 8:30 in the Red Room in Converse Hall.

NOTE: The BC does not actually allocate money; it only makes recommendations for the AAS to vote on.  No award is final until voted on by the AAS at its meeting at 8:30 in the Red Room in Converse Hall.

1. Men’s Rugby requested $90 for stakes and ropes and $105 for flags that they needed because their current equipment is unusable. The BC recommended funding in full

2. The Amherst College Responsible Endowment Coalition requested $130 in registration fees for a national conference they need to attend.  BC recommended funding in full.

3. The South Asian Students Association requested $100 for food tax, $8 for the difference between previously allocated funds and actual cost for posters, and $40 for decorations. As a non-profit organization, the BC is exempt from such a tax so the $100 has been tabled until it has been clarified whether or not we need to pay such a tax. The BC recommended to fund $48 for the posters and decorations.

4. The Amherst Badminton Club requested $250 for badminton rackets, $100 for shuttlecocks, $100 for nets, and $50 for an equipment bag. Club representatives said they had seen a dramatic increase in membership and the previous arrangement of renting equipment from the equipment room is no longer adequate because of hours and condition of the equipment. The BC recommended to fund in full.

5. Amherst College Outing Club (ACOC) requested $61.54 for gas.  This is a unique case because the BC typically does not fund gas; however, ACOC had been informed they would have a van, and upon their arrival, could not access the AAS van. The BC recommended to fund in full.

6. The Amherst Riding Club requested $2400 in lesson subsidies for those who wish to take lessons but cannot afford to front the costs of such lessons. The BC raised concerns over abuse of such a policy that uses the honor system.  There was a suggestion that subsidies be based on financial aid information; however, that was discarded. There is a proposal that all participants asking for a subsidy meet with the captain in person. The BC recommended to fund in full.

7. Amherst Water Polo submitted a late request asking for $1343.88 in hotel fees for 24 members attending a two-night tournament at Colby College. The BC determined the team would have had to leave before 5AM Saturday morning to make it in time for their first game and a warm up.  BC recommended to fund in full.

8. Habitat for Humanity requested $375 for a 15-person participation fee in the Hike for Humanity.  They had already asked the CCE for funding, but had been rejected. There was some debate over funding such an event since it resembles the Friends of Jaclyn race held last Sunday; however, the BC also discussed that an event such as this is the equivalent of a conference fee.  There is a principle statement made that the BC should not disincentive students from involving themselves in projects which are beneficial to the community. The BC would like to discuss at a later time the issue of registration fees for clubs. The BC recommended to fund in full.

NOTE: The BC does not actually allocate money; it only makes recommendations for the AAS to vote on.  No award is final until voted on by the AAS at its meeting at 830 in the Red Room in Converse Hall.

 1. The Amherst Community Garden requested $50 for food at their upcoming introductory meeting. The BC recommended funding in full.

 2. The Argentine Tango Club requested $10 for publicity and $50 for food for their first meeting. Additionally, they requested $400 for 2 professional tango dancers to perform and help teach at their opening meeting. Lastly, they requested $1250 for their regular instructor’s stipend for half of the semester. The BC recommended full funding.

 3. The Amherst College Italian Club requested $10 for publicity and $30 for Italian pastries for their opening meeting. The BC recommended funding in full.

 4.  The Chinese Awareness Organization requested $10 for publicity and $50 for food for their opening meeting. The BC recommended full funding.

 5. The South Asian Students Association (SASA) has one of the more complicated requests of the night. They requested a total of $3557.95 for a fundraising dinner/movie screening they are hosting on October 4^th. $3000 was requested for Indian food and refreshments for the night. After confirming that the group had actually received quotes from various Indian restaurants in the area and noting the precedent of funding clubs for one large food event per semester in the price range, the BC decided to fund that portion of the request. Additionally, SASA requested $105 for chafing dishes, $105 to rent table linens from Valentine, $50 for paper plates/napkins/cutlery/etc, and $10 for publicity. All of these requests were uncontroversial. The club also requested an additional $40 for larger color posters to be used at the event for decoration. The BC noted past precedent of funding decorations for other large events and decided to fund the posters. SASA also requested $100 for raffle prizes and $17.95 for a roll of raffle tickets to be used for raffles at the event. The BC has never historically funded raffle prizes, and decided against funding these two items. Lastly, the club was advised to return to the BC next week with more precise descriptions and prices of the additional decorations they wish to purchase for the event. Altogether, the BC recommended $3340 in funding.

 6. The Amherst College Democrats requested $125 for a Barack Obama Support Pack, which includes buttons, stickers, bumper stickers and signs, for their upcoming canvassing trip to New Hampshire. $10 for publicity for the even was also requested.  The BC recommended funding in full.

 7. Circus requested $10 for publicity for their first meeting. The BC recommended funding in full.

 8. The Historical European Martial Arts Club requested $300 for dues to the Association of Renaissance and Medieval, $900 for their instructor’s semester salary and $10 publicity for their first meeting. The BC recommended full funding.

 9. The Amherst Water Polo team requested $180 for new water polo balls. When they submitted their club budget last semester they typed $20 for balls instead of $200 and no one seemed to notice. The original $20 they were allocated did not allow them to buy even one ball. The BC recommended funding in full.

 10. The Indicator requested $60.40 for food and $10 for publicity for an upcoming forum they are hosting in conjunction with AmhPub to discuss the Amethyst Initiative. This led to some controversy in the BC as it does not typically fund food except for first meetings and large food events. Representatives from the Indicator advocated that this forum was designed to raise awareness about the Indicator and AmhPub in addition to the Amethyst Initiative, essentially acting as a first meeting. They also noted that they had not had an “introductory” meeting per se this semester and have only had meetings to think of article ideas. After some healthy debate, the BC decided to recommend $50 for food (the typical ceiling) and $10 for publicity while strongly encouraging the Indicator to find an alternative source to fund the food since they had mentioned that the Amherst administration was both involved in and excited about this event.

Philip Johnson, ‘11

NOTE: The BC does not actually allocate money; it only makes recommendations for the AAS to vote on.  No award is final until voted on by the AAS at its meeting at 830 in the Red Room in Converse Hall.

1. The Amherst Responsible Endowment Coalition requested $18.75 for 3 handbooks and $20 to cover their semester’s printing costs. The BC recommended full funding.

2. Global Rights of Women (GROW) requested $165 dollars to buy masks for a fund-raising masquerade ball. The BC recommended full funding.

3. Youth Action International requested $25 for food and $10 for publicity for their first event of the year. The BC recommended full funding.

4. The Swing and Ballroom Dance club came in with the most complicated and extensive request of the  week.

They requested $500 dollars for their end of semester dance, and the BC told them to come back to apply for funds when they had a confirmed date, venue and band for the event.

They requested $3200 for their competitive team coach, and $1000 for ballroom lessons and $1000 for swing lessons that are open to the college community. On this, the BC was somewhat divided. We have a past precedent of not exceeding $3000 in our contribution to the coaching fees of clubs that we sponsor, and so this request seemed to fall afoul of that, given that the coach for both the team and the open lessons is the same person.

Eventually we recommended funding $2400 for their competitive coach, which is within the normal range of BC funding for club coaches, and recommended full funding for both the swing and ballroom lessons. Although this might seem to break with precedent, the dominant argument in favor of giving them most of the funds requested was that the open lessons could be viewed not as coaching, but as a public service to the college community, and an event that was worth sponsoring. It was also argued that if the competitive team and the recreational club were separate entities, we would be willing to fund both activities.

They also asked for $67.50 for publicity throughout the semester. We agreed to fund $20 dollars of that, and told them to come back when specific events, such as the end of semester dance were held.

Finally there was a separate request for $100 for two end of semester lessons, which we told them to come back for later, when they had confirmed the event.

5. The Fun Police requested $500 dollars for various sound equipment (mostly of the sound-making variety), $1000 dollars for uniforms and $200 dollars to publicize athletic events throughout the semester.

We agreed to fund $500 for the sound equipment, and $200 for the publicity. We cut their uniform spending to $450, which allows them to purchase roughly 50 sets of badges and hats. The logic behind this was that we wanted them to gauge the amount of participation they would be able to regularly muster before granting them the rest of their requested funding. We hope they do get an overwhelming response, and come back to us for the rest. The BC also reminded them of the need to keep their uniforms for future use, as per standard policy of purchasing team/club uniforms.

6. Men’s Ultimate Frisbee needed $50 for registration fees. The BC recommended full funding.

7. The Amherst Equestrian Team’s first male member in 5 years needed $775 for a full set of show clothes so that he would be able to ride competitively. We recommended full funding, also reminding the team that the uniform needed to be retained for future use.

8. The Amherst Mountain Biking Team requested $450 for bike repairs, and a new bike rack. We recommended funding in full.

9. Men’s Rugby required $1050 for registration fees and requested $95 to pay for half of a trophy for that would serve as the prize for the winner of the Amherst v UMass Amherst game which is played every semester. The registration fees were uncontroversial and funded in full. The trophy struck some BC members as resembling a gift, which we traditionally do not fund, but since it was to be retained by Amherst most of the time (we hope), we decided to fund it in full as well.
10. Finally we discussed the issue of hotel rooms for travelling teams. Pending more data, we are working on a set of guidelines to determine when a team is eligible for funding.

Nic Zhou, 2010

NOTE: The BC does not actually allocate money; it only makes recommendations for the AAS to vote on.  No award is final until voted on by the AAS at its meeting at 830 in the Red Room in Converse Hall.

1. The Amherst College Democrats requested $81 dollars for Sugar Jones Cookies to serve during their introductory meeting.  The BC’s precedent has been to fund food up to $50 for an introductory meeting.  The BC decided to fund $54 dollars to accommodate Sugar Jones’ price schedule and still  allow the Dems to hit their price ceiling.  We also added $10 to their request for mandatory publicity.  (The AAS is constitutionally required to ensure that all the events it funds are open to all students.  They thus have to know about it.  We therefore give $10 for posters and table tents from OAS in College Hall).

2. The Amherst Community Garden came for various supplies to start a garden.  Dean Haynes’ office has traditionally provided $200 for start-up clubs.  We requested that the ACG talk to Dean Haynes’ replacement, Dean Fatemi (spelling?), to request that money and come to the Senate meeting on Monday at 8:30 in the Red Room.  We also added $10 for publicity (see above).

3. The Amherst College Rowing Association (Amherst Crew) came to ask us for $4000 to pay for their van rentals.  Normally the BC would not grant such a request but Crew could not practice without the vans as their boathouse is down Route 9 almost to the Northampton.  Crew remains responsible for paying for their own gas and does a great deal of fundraising to pay for their equipment.

4. The Fencing Team requested $720 dollars for a workshop and $701.07 for 10 new masks.  We felt the $720 dollars for a four-hour workshop was somewhat steep but the Fencing Team said that this would be the only such event they would be having this semester and given the size of their membership (it amounted to about $20 a person) the amount was acceptable.  We also funded the masks in full as the Fencing Team’s old masks had failed certification at tournaments and constituted a safety issue.

5. The South Asian Students Association came for $60 for food, $10 for drinks, $10 for paper plates cups and napkins, and $10 for publicity.  We gave them $50 for food and drinks (see above), $10 for paper plates, cups, and napkins, and $10 for publicity (see above).

6. Educate came for $30 in publicity.  We would’ve given them $10 as that is the standard amount we supply but they had already printed the posters and we NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER fund anything that a club has already bought (eg Ex post facto funding).

7. Habitat for humanity came for $45 dollars for food for their introductory meeting which we funded (see above).  We also gave them $10 in publicity (see above).  Their event was to take place before the next AAS meeting and so instead of putting them through the normal budgetary process we funded them using the $200 dollars per week that is at the BC’s discretion to allocate as he or she sees fit.

8. The Amherst Water Polo Association came for $965 for hotels [(
$74.90/night, 24 people (4 to a room, 6 rooms), 2 nights]  and $1,769 in league fees.  We funded the hotels in full.  There was a feeling that the Water Polo team could’ve eliminated one night from their trip and thus halve the hotel fees but they would have had to leave Amherst College at 4AM preceding their first game and this was judged too much of a hardship.  Apparently their league fees had already been funded in their semester budget so we didn’t fund them again (yeah, we’re smart).

9. Women’s Frisbee came for $940.00 for 25 new jerseys.  We were receptive to this requestion.  However, we stipulated they appoint someone to keep the Jerseys for games and make clear to their players that the Jerseys are school property and cannot be kept.  We also asked them to consult Dean Fatemi to see whether or not they could get a better price from a supplier Dean Fatemi is familiar with and then come to the Senate meeting on Monday and we would reconsider the amount to fund.

Request 1-Organization: Five College Martial Arts

Request Description: We are interested in holding weekly karate classes for any students that wish to come. We already have an instructor (sensei) willing to teach classes every Friday. However, our instructor lives in Pittsfield, MA and we\’d like to be able to at least reimburse him for the gas, if not also pay him for his services.
Line Item 0: Instructor cost for three weeks of services and instructor travel cost, $240

BC Recommendation: $48

BC Rationale: Of the five people currently participating in Five College Martial Arts, one is an Amherst student and the other four attend the various other Five Colleges.  Since Amherst Student Fees are primarily meant to fund activities in which Amherst Students participate, it was viewed as inappropriate for the Amherst Student Body to bear the cost of the Five College students short of majority participation by Amherst students or at least some sort of critical mass.  We thus recommended forty-eight dollars to pay the Amherst studet’s portion of the instructor’s fee and transportation (240/5=48).  We also suggested to Five College Martial Arts that, if it was so inclined, it could attempt to raise the number and proportion of Amherst students participating by collaborating with Amherst Mixed Martial Arts and advertising to the Amherst campus in the Fall (we would recommend $10 towards this advertising).  If this resulted in greater Amherst student participation, it would make AAS funding for the club’s expenses more justifiable.

Here is a list of its current members:

Nick Pastan; Juliet Silberstein; Peter Tang; Kat Wu; Charles Tanenbaum; Haley Castro; Sid Salvi; Daniel Lees