Completing a project that has been on its agenda for several years, Student Assembly allocated most of its remaining 2006-2007 budget -- totaling about $8,000 -- to pay for installing Dash capabilities in campus vending machines at Tuesday night's meeting.
After allocating just over $1,100 to maintain the course guide incentive program, which funds the raffling of EBAs gift certificates to some students who complete online reviews, the Assembly turned to more pressing matters: the vending machine legislation.
Though the original proposal asked for only $5,000, Student Body Vice President Jacqueline Loeb '08 questioned why the Assembly, with only one meeting left to spend its remaining funds, was not allocating more money to the project.
As such, Loeb suggested that the Assembly initially allocate $5,000, and then pledge to also provide any funds remaining after the current administration's final meeting next week.
"We'll just keep that in mind when funding other projects," Loeb said.
Student Body President Tim Andreadis '07 said he doubted that the Assembly would entertain at next week's meeting any legislation that required funding, so the vending machines project will likely receive the remainder of the Assembly's budget.
Student Organizations Chair Neil Kandler '09 has spearheaded the vending machines project.
"This is something we've been working on for like the last 50 years," he joked during the meeting.
Kandler pointed to trouble contacting the right people as the main obstacle that hindered the Assembly's previous efforts.
He said he could not predict how many vending machines the Assembly's money would fund.
An old estimate of the cost of installing Dash in the vending machines was $500 per machine, but that amount may have changed as a result of newer vending machine models. Kandler also said the help of other groups may be solicited in order to provide for the upgrade in further machines.
According to Kandler, he hopes the affected machines will be Dash-capable by the beginning of Fall term.
The decision to fund the vending machine proposal takes the place of several other large-scale year-end projects considered by the Assembly, including the funding of electronic billboards, the expansion of television channels at the cardio machines in the gym and a proposal to fund the first fully sustainable building at the Dartmouth Organic Farm.
These projects were foregone in favor of the vending machine project after considering both feasibility and student interest, Andreadis said.
"[Dash in vending machines] is definitely more of a campus priority at the moment," Andreadis said in reference to the sustainable building proposal.
Andreadis said that he hopes some of the other projects will be picked up by the administration of Student Body President-elect Travis Green '08 in the 2007-2008 academic year.
