Student Assembly Appropriations Committee

Amended Sunday, 20 May 2012.

I. Preamble

Each organization that receives funding from the Student Assembly (SA) through the Student Activity Fee (SAF) is subject to Guidelines set by the Assembly in consultation with the Graduate & Professional Student Assembly (GPSA), these organizations, and the Cornell student body.

II. Student Assembly’s Role and Obligations

1. SA Charge: As the student-elected governing body at Cornell University, the SA shall seek out and voice effectively the interests and concerns of the student body.
2. Notice of Current Governing Documents: The SA shall provide each by-line funded organization, the Director(s) of Student Activities, Campus Life, the GPSA, and the Dean of Students with a current copy of these Guidelines, as well as the SA Charter and the SA Appropriations Committee Charge and Guidelines each year.
3. Notice of Pending Legislation: Each by-line funded organization, the Director(s) of Student Activities, Campus Life, the GPSA, and the Dean of Students shall be notified of any SA, SA Appropriations Committee, or other meeting in which legislation concerning or affecting Fee recipients is pending.
4. Outreach: The SA Vice-President for Finance shall wherever possible, and as early as possible, attend at least one meeting of each organization each year and shall assist, when desired, organizations to prepare their written and oral reports to the Assembly.
5. Enforcement, Violations & Penalties
   1. The SA Vice-President for Finance shall be charged with investigation of all accusations regarding violations of these guidelines and will report such findings to the SA.
   2. If the SA determines that an organization has committed a violation, the SA may impose a fine, reduction or revocation of the organization’s by-line funding allocation. In order for a fine, reduction, or revocation of funding to occur, a two-thirds majority of the SA must concur. Reasons for a fine, reduction, or revocation of funding include, but are not limited to, violation of these rules, violation of campus policies or violation of contract. Any money garnered from a fine on an organization shall revert to the SAF endowment fund. If a reduction or revocation of funding affecting the remainder of the funding cycle occurs, the University shall attempt to reduce the SAF to reflect the lower amount. Excepting that, the money shall revert to the SAF endowment fund.

III. General Guidelines

All recipients of the SAF shall adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Eligibility: SAF allocations are to be used primarily for the benefit of undergraduate students. Each organization shall be primarily student run and led.
2. Event Ticketing: For all events (concerts, lectures, films, etc.) funded by the Fee allocations and for which admission is charged, Cornell students shall receive:
   1. A reasonable discount per event to reflect their prior contribution via the SAF.
   2. The first opportunity to purchase tickets or otherwise should have a substantial amount of tickets reserved for student use.
   3. Each organization shall report to the SA all money received for that event from other Fee recipients, including organizations funded by the SAFC, as requested by either the Appropriations Committee or the Executive Committee, or by the chairs of those committees.
3. Public Promotion & Engagement
   1. Each organization shall regularly advertise its existence and encourage student participation in its meetings, which shall be open to the public.
   2. Each organization shall include the following logo or statement on all tickets, fliers, posters, promotions, programs, and literature: “Funded in part by the Student Assembly.”
4. Capital Expenditures: SAF allocations are meant to serve as a “current account.” No organization shall use its Fee allocations for major capital equipment purchases costing more than $500 without the express approval of the SA. Organizations shall request approval in their annual fall report to the SA. A major capital equipment purchase shall be defined as anything having a useful life of two years or more.
5. Funds Partitioning: SAF money will preferably be held in a separate University account for accounting and reporting purposes. Otherwise all expenditures from SAF money shall be authorized by the organization in accordance with its governing documents.
6. SA Liaisons: The SA shall have the option of appointing a Cornell student to serve as a non-voting Liaison to each organization or, where appropriate, to its Executive Board.
7. Off-year Reporting: During the fall of even-numbered calendar years each organization shall provide the Appropriations Committee with a written account of the use of its Fee allocation and operations for the previous academic year, as well as an oral summary of its activities, including usage statistics, and future programming plans. The SA Vice President for Finance shall provide a written summary report of these meetings to the SA.
8. New Organization Reporting: Organizations receiving by-line funding for the first time in the current funding cycle shall report each semester to the Appropriations Committee on their operations and finances.
9. Conferences: Organizations may send Executive Board member(s) to one annual conference, if desired. The Appropriations Committee must approve organization’s conference expenditures and each organization must demonstrate to the committee that conference attendance will benefit the organization’s ability to achieve its mission statement. Organizations shall request approval in their annual fall report to the SA. All conference as well as teambuilding, banquet, training, and other social expenditures for organization members, in sum, shall be no greater than $4,000 or 10% of the organization’s by-line allocation, whichever is less. This rule shall not apply to SAFC-funded organizations.
10. Governing Document Approval: All organizations must submit any changes in the organizations’ bylaws, constitution, or other governing documents to the SA for its approval.
11. Non-discrimination: All organizations receiving Student Activity Fee funds directly or that receive such funds indirectly from a by-line funded organization shall not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any combination of these factors when determining its membership and when determining the equal rights of all general members and executive board members, respectively, which shall include, but are not limited to, voting for, seeking, and holding positions within the organization.
    1. Notwithstanding these requirements, a club sport may make requirements based on competitive athletic skill which may result in a club sport of one or predominantly one gender. Organizations may also make requirements based on vocal range or quality which may result in a chorus or choruses of one or predominantly one gender. Organizations that participate in activities with governmental age restrictions may also make appropriate requirements on the basis of age.
    2. Organizations may also enforce uniform standards of belief or conduct as a prerequisite for obtaining some or all rights of general members and executive board members, respectively, so long as said standards are protected by the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution in the context of a public university and do not impede enforcement of Appendix B, Section II.5.
    3. Each organization receiving Student Activity Fee funds directly from the Student Assembly shall include a “Non-discrimination Clause” section in its bylaws, constitution or other governing documents reflecting this policy.

IV. Organization Specific Guidelines

Furthermore, individual organizations shall adhere to the following additional Guidelines:

1. African, Latino, Asian, Native American Students Programming Board (ALANA)
   1. $4.00 per student per year of the ALANA allocation shall be used for ALANA events and administrative expenses.
   2. $2.50 per student per year of the ALANA allocation shall be used to fund the MCFAB program each year.
   3. MCFAB shall seek to bring multiple acts to campus representing different musical genres.
   4. $2.25 per student per year of the ALANA allocation shall be contributed towards the Umbrella Programming Fund (UPF) for intracultural programmatic use and will be governed by the UPF charter as set forth in ALANA’s constitution.
2. Athletics & Physical Education
   1. The Athletics Department shall provide, at no cost, a Big Red Sports Pass (BRSP) to each undergraduate student. $7.00 per student per year of the total annual Athletics allocation may be spent towards providing the BRSP.
   2. In collaboration with the Sports Marketing Group, the Athletics Department will promote Cornell Athletic events to the entire Cornell community. $3.00 per student per year of the annual Athletics’ allocation may be spent towards providing marketing and promotions. Athletics shall further promote increased autonomous student leadership in the Sports Marketing Group during the 2012–2014 funding cycle.
   3. The BRSP shall provide free admission to all varsity sports excluding Men’s Varsity Ice Hockey.
3. Class Councils
   1. The Class Councils allocation may be divided between the four class years in proportions determined by the organization.
4. Collegiate Readership Program
   1. Newspapers shall be distributed from the Monday of the week prior to the first full week of classes to the last day of exam week during each fall semester and from the first day of class to the last day of exam week during each spring semester. These distributions periods do not include Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, or Spring Break.
   2. The CRP liaison shall prepare and present a report to the SA at the end of each year with information regarding readership and an analysis of the current distribution locations and proportions of papers. Any proposed changes in locations or proportions must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the SA.
5. North Campus Programming Council
   1. SAF funds shall be directed towards North Campus based programming.
6. Community Partnership Board
   1. The Board shall use Activity Fee money for the funding of projects. Administrative expenses shall be paid by the Board’s parent body, the Public Service Center, or other non-activity fee sources of funding.
   2. Projects funded are to be decided by the Board. Those projects are to be included in the annual report to the SA.
7. Convocation
   1. At the time of the selection of Convocation Committee membership, all members of the SA and student-elected trustee(s) that belong to that class year will be invited to participate as full voting members of the Convocation Committee.
   2. Convocation shall seek to announce speaker selection first at a Student Assembly meeting.
8. Cornell Cinema
   1. Cornell Cinema shall not increase student ticket prices without the express approval of the SA.
   2. Cornell Cinema shall strive to promote autonomous student leadership.
9. Cornell Concert Commission
   1. The Concert Commission shall seek to produce at least one act each semester in Barton Hall, Lynah Rink, or similar venue.
   2. The Concert Commission shall strive to put on one free concert during the academic year.
10. Cornell University Emergency Medical Service
    1. EMS may save no more than $25,000 per each two-year funding cycle toward the purchase of a new vehicle.
11. Cornell University Programming Board
    1. The Cornell University Program Board shall use its SAF allocation to bring widely known speakers to campus. Such speakers should have diverse following, within the university, and in the Board’s best opinion, should be able to attract a large attendance by students and community members.
12. CU Tonight Commission
    1. CUTonight shall seek to promote non-alcoholic, late night social programming, on campus, open to the entire Cornell community.
13. International Students Board
    1. As a programming board, ISB shall strive to provide funds for Registered Student Organizations that are hosting events that may be of concern or interest to the international community at Cornell.
14. Orientation Steering Committee
    1. The Assistant Dean of Students in New Student Programs shall continue to supervise the planning and implementation of all August and January orientation activities.
    2. The president of the SA and the senior Student Elected Trustee must be invited to address the new students at the President’s New Students Convocation each year. If the Cornell University President limits the OSC to two speakers, the president of the SA must be invited.
    3. Attendance at Welcome Weekend events shall not be mandatory for Orientation volunteers.
    4. OSC shall increase funding for both transfer and January Orientation programming.
15. Outdoor Odyssey
    1. Outdoor Odyssey shall create a need-based financial aid program for students who apply for pre-orientation trips.
    2. Outdoor Odyssey shall conduct a review during the 2012–2014 funding cycle of group size for each trip to evaluate whether increasing the size of trips, thereby enabling more students to participate, would have negative safety consequences.
16. Senior Week
    1. SAF-funded Senior Week events will charge no admittance fee and will be open to all seniors.
17. Slope Day Programming Board (SDPB)
    1. The allocation for the SDPB shall be used exclusively for programming and publicity for an event on the last day of classes during the spring semester.
    2. The SDPB shall organize a non-alcoholic Slope Fest event concurrent to Slope Day.
    3. SDPB shall offer all undergraduate students free admission to Slope Day, unless expressly permitted by the SA.
    4. The Slope Day Programming Board shall work with the Cornell Administration to achieve the best possible event for all Cornell students.
    5. The Slope Day Programming Board shall collect demographic information from all Slope Day entrants. These statistics shall be reported to the SA and GPSA the Fall Semester following Slope Day.
    6. The Slope Day Programming Board shall seek to announce artist selection first at a Student Assembly meeting.
18. Slope Media Group
    1. Slope Media Group shall annually report their current durable goods inventory, capital expenditures, and retirement or loss of durable goods inventory to the Appropriations Committee.
    2. Slope Media Group shall establish durable goods inventory management procedures, which must include details about anticipated storage locations, authorized persons to possess or handle equipment, device security, and theft.
19. Student Assembly Finance Commission
    1. SAFC shall publish and make publicly available a written account of the organizations requesting funding, the amount requested, the amount rewarded, and the amount spent.
    2. Criteria for funding of undergraduate student organizations may not be altered or waived without the express approval of the SA.
    3. The SAFC shall reserve at least 1 dollar per student per year for a special projects fund. Monies held in this fund will be allocated first for appeals of the SAFC’s funding decisions to the SA.
    4. Five dollars per student per year shall be placed in a SAF endowment fund. The SA shall create guidelines for use of the endowment.
    5. Each organization funded by the SAFC will be required to include the following SAF logo or statement on all fliers, posters, promotions, programs, and literature “Funded in part by the Student Assembly Finance Commission”.
20. Multicultural Greek Letter Council (MGLC)
    1. All monies from the SAF shall only be used for administrative costs and programming that is open to the entire Cornell community.
21. Welcome Weekend
    1. Welcome Weekend shall seek to develop an event on the first weekend of the spring semester.
22. Willard Straight Hall Student Union Board
    1. All events funded by WSH SUB must either take place in Willard Straight Hall or the surrounding environments and be directly associated with the purpose and mission of WSH.
23. Women’s Resource Center (WRC)
    1. Cornell Women’s Resource Center resources shall be made available to all Cornell students and other members of the Cornell community.
    2. The Women’s Resource Center shall collaborate with the Student Assembly Women’s Issues Committee on safety, health, and other topics pertinent to women on campus.
    3. The Cornell Women’s Resource Center will be organizationally accountable to and report directly to Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students and will be programmatically accountable to the student body and SA.
    4. $0.50 per student per year of the WRC allocation shall be used for the development and operation of the B.L.U.E. late night shuttle service. The Women’s Resource Center will be responsible for coordinating the management and operation of the B.L.U.E. late night shuttle service.

V. Duration and Supersedence

1. Once approved by the SA, these Funding Guidelines shall take effect on July 1, 2012 and shall expire on June 30, 2014, unless amended or renewed by the SA. These rules require a two-thirds majority of SA members present to be amended.
2. These Funding Guidelines supersede all previous legislation of the SA and its predecessor bodies, as well as all charters, constitutions, bylaws, and other legislation of all SAF recipients and other student organizations.
3. Guidelines for organizations that also receive funding from the GPSA may be amended only after consultation with the GPSA.