Student Assembly

Rationale of the Committee

The Appropriations Committee recommends funding $9.50 for the 2012–2014 By-Line Funding Cycle. The Committee appreciated the professionalism and leadership of the group over the last few years as well as the improvements to the appeals process. While the Committee felt that late night programming at Cornell should be a large focus for the community in the upcoming years, most felt that the organization was overfunded by the Student Activity Fee. Committee members noticed that there had been a consistent surplus over the last three years and felt that it reflected excess funding. First, many felt that CUTonight must do a better job in the future to ensure funded groups spend their full allocation. In addition, the Committee felt that the projected level of event funding for the next three years was not reasonable since the group was not able to attain similar levels in the past. Furthermore, the Committee disagreed that an increase in applications was likely and that increases in administrative expenditure should be used to reduce the continual budget surplus. Lastly, while most committee members recognized the need for increased late night programming at Cornell, most felt that the continual surplus in CUTonight’s account could be spent more efficiently by other byline-funded organizations. With a funding level of $9.50, the Committee felt that CUTonight would be able to work down its surplus by improving selectivity and focusing on funding groups that actually utilize its entire allocation.

Vote Totals

The Committee votes down, from the highest number proposed to the lowest, to give the group the advantage. The vote totals from the Committee were as follows:

Respectfully submitted,

Adam Nicoletti ‘12
Vice President for Finance, Student Assembly