Dear Mr. Borsellino and the Amherst Student Body,
In our issue before break, we published an article entitled “Missing AAS Budgets Raise Questions.” We’d originally planned for an article that took a closer look at the changes in AAS finances, in order to examine if and how spending changed from year to year. That article, however, proved difficult to write, as much of the data we needed was not available online, nor was it readily available offline, despite the AAS’ efforts to make them available on relatively short notice.
The Amherst Association of Students (AAS) Senate, which counts among its constitutional purposes a goal to “serve as an advocate for student interest, and present a forum for opinions and issues to be raised,” manages a budget comprised of the Student Activity Fees and a percentage of the tuition paid by each student.
The full 2011-2012 Senate has finally been seated.
Indeed, the fourth meeting of the AAS on Monday night began with a classic Senate tradition — the swearing-in ceremony. Those elected to the Senate by the student body last Thursday were not officially senators until they recited an “oath of office.” These 10 senators-elect — eight from the class of 2015 and two from the class of 2013 — had to assure the rest of the Senate that, among other things, they had no “mental reservations” or “purpose of evasion” before being sworn in.
For the third consecutive year, the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) has shored up budgets for programs that were previously stewarded by the administration. Following the 15 percent budget cuts imposed by the administration in the midst of the financial crisis in 2008, the AAS established a fund to help defray some departments’ budgetary shortfalls. The Take Your Professor Out (TYPO) and Faculty Tea programs were among a bevy of programs that requested AAS aid when the fund was established, in addition to the Health Education branch of the Health Services Center.
I had some time this week to reflect on my last column, where I talked about how the AAS was playing hardball with the administration over funding for senior bar night. Maybe all it took was talking to my friend at the College of Charleston, who is trying to convince his college administration to stop a policy of aggressively patting down dorm visitors, but it dawned on me that things generally function pretty well at Amherst. When the AAS almost barricades the doors of Converse over about $1,000 of social funding, it’s a testament to how well this school actually operates.
Class of 2013
With a new president, major changes to social policy on campus and new regulations, I think it’s clear that the College is in a time of transition. As RC of Davis and Stone, I’ve seen how these changes have affected student life. I’d like to represent the class of 2013’s perspective on issues of student life, as well as help develop environmental sustainability initiatives across campus, and I would appreciate your support.
Class of 2015
