Six weeks of rapid spending culminating in last week's $5,000 give-back to the Undergraduate Finance Committee has brought renewed interest into how the Student Assembly spends its budget of approximately $30,000.
The Assembly has spent $9,000 of its budget so far this year on largely intangible projects such as a forum on race relations, a sexual harassment community dinner and funding for an Ivy Council conference in addition to their highly publicized symbolic gift to the UFC to help fund student organizations.
This contrasts with previous years when the Assembly's big-ticket items have been for more concrete student services such as purchasing additional equipment for the Kresge Weight Room in 1997, free Student Advantage cards in 1995 and copies of the Mugshots upperclass face book for every freshman room in 1996.
The Assembly receives its funding from the UFC, which distributes the $40-per-term student activity fee to various campus groups like the Committee on Student Organizations and the Programming Board as well as the Assembly.
The Assembly has allocated approximately 30 percent of its budget to date -- a pace slightly faster than in past years.
"I think the good news is the Assembly has gotten off to a quick start," Assembly President Josh Green '00 told The Dartmouth. "The last two years we've seen big expenses happen in the Winter term and I think this Assembly has seen that this term."
Green said the UFC monetary return was a "stronger statement because it was made in the beginning of the year rather than the end of the year."
The College has still "not yet" agreed to supplement the Assembly's donation with the requested $20,000 addition, however, Green said.
This year's spending rate pales in comparison to the eyebrow-raising spending levels of 1994, however, when the Assembly had spent 75 percent of its budget by this time under the leadership of then-President Danielle Moore '95.
This Assembly has benefited from recent negotiations which allowed Assembly student service projects to occur without Assembly funding.
Kiewit Computation Center donated 16 iMac computers to replace the Assembly's old, outdated public BlitzMail computers, and the Dean of the College's office is now paying the entire cost of the soon-to-be-distributed sophomore major advising guide, a project jointly initiated by the Assembly.
These unexpected savings mean the Assembly had more money in its budget to fund other projects, Green said.
"It's important to recognize what we're doing, because what we're doing is not only what we're spending our money on."
He said the funds were not expressly earmarked for "issue" items to keep the balance between the two types of Assembly projects however, saying no determination is made in advance as to what percentage of funds will go to what type of project.
Most of the students who spoke to The Dartmouth said they receive more benefit from some of the past years' allocations than projects funded by this year's Assembly.
Thomas McGinnis '99 said he does not think this year's Assembly-sponsored forums benefit him at all but said "if they put a new machine in the weight room I'd probably get some benefit from that."
Karthik Kalyanaraman '01 said he also prefers tangible student services. "They make all these big statements on what they are going to give the students and I'd just rather see things happening."
Joann Bassani '99 said she too would rather the Assembly spend its budget on services like in years past. "I actually think the physical things that get done have more of an impact ... because it impacts students directly."
McGinnis and Benjamin Gibson '01 said while they both did not attend this year's issues forums they see a practical benefit for the campus as a whole.
"I personally might not attend those discussionary dinners but assuming there are people who attend them I think they're valuable," Gibson said.
The recent decision to return $5,000 to the UFC also raised some concerns about the Assembly's necessity for all of its funding, but all of the students who spoke to The Dartmouth said they supported the Assembly distributing a portion of their student activities fees.
"I would say students get more then their seven dollars worth because if they pool their money together they can get better results," Bassani said.
McGinnis said he does not think it is fair if the Assembly is over-funded with so many other groups needing additional money, but added he thinks "in theory they probably need as much as they can get."
