I applaud the Student Assembly for its efforts in conducting the survey, as well as for its recommendations to the administration. I think the Dartmouth students who took the survey had the right instincts about the budget cuts: protect financial aid and academic necessities, while cutting back on waste and unimportant programs. The Assembly seemed to draw the right message from the survey results, though I wish its letter to the administration had included recommendations for reducing expenditures on the Office of Pluralism and Leadership and the Native American Program, as suggested by the students who took the survey.
-- Peter Blair '12
Even though students may not have a good understanding of how much certain cuts would contribute to the College's budget, the survey gives the administration an idea of which budget areas to investigate first. Particularly helpful were the specific, open-ended suggestions on how to eliminate inefficiencies in the system, as well as the listings of Dartmouth-provided services that are unlikely to be missed by most of the student population.
-- Tina Praprotnik '09
Most likely because Student Assembly did not take any bold or drastic stances, I largely agree with its proposal, with the exception of the recommendation to maintain extended hours in certain dining halls. Though I love being able to walk into Collis at 12:30 a.m. and get some snacks, it is a program of excess that should not take away from the more important academic opportunities Dartmouth provides.
-- Jacob Batchelor '12
While there is some merit to looking at specific departments to cut down the budget, we really should be finding ways to make all departments more efficient. Instead of looking to give up midnight chicken nuggets, maybe we should have fewer Dartmouth Dining Services employees behind the grill at midnight. Each department has financial fat that it could cut. It seems unfair to single out individual ones; every department contributes to some student's Dartmouth experience.
-- Tom Mandel '11
While the Assembly survey was conducted in response to impending budget cuts, it serves as a good litmus test for student preferences and priorities regardless of the current economic climate. It comes as no surprise that the majority of students favor cutting funding for programs that benefit only small segments of the student population, and whose missions and daily business remain ambiguous and of questionable importance.
-- Christian Kiely '09
While I agree with most of the Assembly's recommendations, it's important to remember that running a college is not a democratic affair. It's tempting for the administration to make the most popular reforms, but those may not be what are best for our school. And with a turnout rate at 34 percent, which is even lower than actual voting rates, who knows what we want anyway?
-- Spenser Mestel '11
The only problem with the Assembly survey is that the student body didn't find many things to cut. I worry that when the administration comes up short of its targeted $40 million reduction, it will be forced to cut programs without any concrete student input to consider.
-- Emily Johnson '12
Fortunately, the Student Assembly survey provided an easy mechanism for identifying inefficiencies at the College, such as the money provided to upperclass undergratuate advisors and the Student Initiaited Projects fund. However, these relatively minor cuts will not make up the difference we need. I am afraid that eventually even the student body's most treasured programs will feel the burn.
-- Brian Solomon '11
