Student Assembly rejected a controversial proposal to fund the Festival of Humanity Tuesday night, instead passing a resolution to only support the event.
Mats Lemberger '06, candidate for Student Body President, sponsored the proposal during the meeting, which all other candidates also attended.
The legislation proposed to donate $1,000 to the Festival of Humanity to fund an all-day barbecue. Lemberger called it a community-unifying event that positively impacts the College.
While some Assembly members supported this view, the majority opposed co-sponsoring the event.
Assembly President Julia Hildreth '05 stopped the discussion partway through to explain specifically what the "new Assembly" had voted on last spring about co-sponsorship.
"During the planning stages [last spring], we passed a resolution which was basically accepting the prospectus for this coming year," Hildreth said. "[One resolution] is that Assembly is not a co-sponsorship body. I think that's relevant."
Assembly member Ben Zimmerman '07, who is also a member of The Dartmouth staff, spoke against the amendment to prohibit funding.
"The difference between this and Collis Up All Night is that this is not our idea. We shouldn't let some silly rule get in the way of our purpose: to support the student body," Zimmerman said. "I think we're getting bogged down in semantics."
Other students questioned whether the Assembly was bound by its own resolutions from the past, such as the co-sponsorship rule.
"It's a good question: are we bound by our own resolutions? I'm not sure -- technically, only if it's in our constitution," Hildreth said.
Those who spoke out against the resolution succeeded in preventing the Assembly from funding the festival. Most argued the need for consistency, despite believing in the event's cause.
Noticeably vocal were presidential candidates Brian Martin '06 and Ben Waters '06, both of whom spoke in favor of monetary aid for the festival.
The resolution against funding passed with 37 students in favor of it. Obviously frustrated during the heated conversations surrounding the legislation, Lemberger said after the meeting, "I appreciate the decision the Assembly made. I understand that at this time, it's not the Assembly's place to give financial support to the event."
