The Student Assembly voted last night to establish a $3,000 fund to provide financial assistance to freely-distributed, College-recognized publications such as The Beacon, bug and Spare Rib.
The Undergraduate Publications Fund will be administered by a panel of Assembly members and representatives from each College-recognized publication.
Assembly Vice President Rukmini Sichitiu '95, who sponsored the motion, said publications need assistance to bridge the gap between advertising revenue, College support and publication costs.
The Undergraduate Publications Fund is based on a belief that campus publications enhance the College's educational experience because they "foster an atmosphere of intellectual diversity and engender intellectual debate and discourse," the motion states.
The fund will provide "dollar for dollar" matching funds of up to $300 per issue to cover up to one-half of an issue's production costs.
The amount of an allocation is dependent upon the advertising revenue the publication collects and the number of times a publication is printed each term, among other considerations.
"It is necessary to make sure intellectual discussion goes on not only inside the classroom but outside the classroom," Assembly member Brandon del Pozo '96 said.
During discussion of the motion, a few Assembly members expressed concern that $3,000 was excessive relative to the Assembly's total budget.
The motion passed 20 to three. In an interview after the meeting, Assembly President Danielle Moore '95 said the motion's passage represented a unifying event for the Assembly because conservative and liberal Assembly members voted in favor of the motion.
Yvonne Chiu '95, editor in chief of The Dartmouth, said she is supportive of the new fund, but is concerned with its implementation.
"It seems that many of the Assembly members who voted to approve this fund -- and who will be in charge of allocating the money -- are also contributors to the very publications to be financed by this new fund," she said.
Last night's meeting began with a rebuke from Moore.
She criticized the tone the Assembly had set for itself in the first few weeks of the year and called on the Assembly to consider its "loyalty to this body to improve our reputation on campus."
Members for the Committee on Procedure, which will investigate the constitutionality of four appointments to the General Assembly made this year, were chosen by lot last night.
Natalie Bachir '97, Grace Chionuma '96, Moore and Kishan Putta '96 will serve on the ad-hoc committee, which will announce its decision next week.
