Student Assembly

Organization: Cornell Cinema
Date: November 15, 2010

The Appropriations Committee felt that Cornell Cinema has made some strides since its meeting during the 2009–2010 academic year and the Committee appreciates the Cinema leadership’s cooperation in assessing organizational weaknesses. Specifically, Committee members appreciated the accounting shift where the SAF would be accounted for in a separate account to avoid confusion and track SAF usage. Overall, the Committee recognizes that Cinema is an important cultural institution of Cornell and members expressed the desire to work toward improving programming for undergraduate students at lowest cost possible.

Throughout the Committee’s discussion, a few elements were addressed:

First, the Committee discussed student involvement at the Cinema and the need for students to play a more defined role in the operation of the organization. Committee members acknowledged the developments made thus far with the committee system and advisory board, but wondered if such involvement was too advisory in nature. Most committee members favored giving students more influence over the organization, with some explicit control over the film selections process. With regards to advertising and promotion, Committee members were pleased that its student-driven nature and would encourage that the student promotions committee continue to work to effectively publicize Cinema events. Finally, the Committee felt that if students were given more tangible influence in the organization, student involvement in and demand for the Cinema would greatly increase.

The Committee also addressed the issue of fluctuating budgets due to capital expenditures and inconsistent income streams. Committee members understood the nature of Cinema’s projector equipment and thought that regular capital expenditures were necessary to continue operations. While Cinema plans on using its budget reserve in funding capital expenditures, some Committee members wondered if keeping the budget reserve at $40,000 (the assumed capital expenditure) each year would be unnecessary. Some members proposed that Cinema look into potentially building up a “projector reserve account” each year as part of a larger financial plan to replace important equipment over the life of the item. In addition, the Committee realized the wide fluctuation in income from year to year and that a reserve was necessary to protect against these unexpected changes. Some Committee members wanted to encourage the Cinema to be flexible with the amount of programming it puts on per week when attempting to balance its budget and encouraged them to potentially reduce the nights of programming where attendance is low. Overall, the Committee and SA leadership look forward to working with the Cinema to address the feasibility of some of these ideas.

In addition, the Committee addressed the issue of the $33,000 capital expenditure on a new video projector for the Willard Straight Theatre. While Committee members regret that the Cinema did not notify the Committee prior to the purchase (stipulated in Appendix B, Section III, Part G), members understood there might have been confusion but expect Cinema to act accordingly in the future.

Overall, the Committee expressed the desire to continue working with the Cinema to address issues of importance. Committee members appreciated Cornell Cinema’s work thus far in working with Assembly members and hope that Cinema will continue to be open to feedback. The Committee felt that the Cinema is an important venue on campus and hopes that it continues to put on programming popular with all stakeholders.

The Committee looks forward to meeting with the Cinema again in the spring to discuss a potential undergraduate ticket price increase as well as to hear about new progress.

Respectfully submitted,

Adam Nicoletti ‘12
CALS Representative
Vice President for Finance