[99] in UA Senate
Re: UA budgeting principles
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Daniel Hawkins)
Thu Oct 15 00:18:47 2009
Reply-To: hwkns@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <77a604f90910142107g132ec156y23a3750140aa131e@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:17:29 -0400
From: Daniel Hawkins <hwkns@MIT.EDU>
To: Jason Scott <jascott88@gmail.com>
Cc: Adam Bockelie <bockelie@mit.edu>, Janet Li <jli12@mit.edu>,
Paul Youchak <youchakp@mit.edu>, Catherine Olsson <catherio@mit.edu>,
Andrew Lukmann <lukymann@mit.edu>, Alex Schwendner <alexrs@mit.edu>,
"Alex Dehnert (UA Treasurer)" <ua-treasurer@mit.edu>,
ua-senate@mit.edu, ua-discuss@mit.edu
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
This argument neglects the differences in size between the UA and the senior
class council, the difference in budget size, and the difference in
man-hours of work. How often does the senior class council meet? How long
are the meetings? Surely none of them are like the 9.5-hour senate meeting
we had at the end of last semester... I think you're comparing very
different things here.
-hwkns
On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 12:07 AM, Jason Scott <jascott88@gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't generally respond to these threads, but I just feel somewhat
> strongly against food at meetings.
>
> Not once in our four years has our council sponsored food at our meetings.
> If having food at meetings is so important for efficiency, can people not
> simply bring their own food to the meeting?
>
> I'm a strong believer in having committee members being rewarded for
> hardwork/planning. But I think that 14% of a budget spent on the committee
> members themselves, is somewhat excessive.
>
> How would people react if last year's senior class council spent over $30K
> on food for only 8 people?
>
> -Jason
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:58 PM, Adam Bockelie <bockelie@mit.edu> wrote:
>
>> I would disagree. Being part of a committee/senate/anything else in the
>> UA is a lot of work, and most people are already busy with other activities.
>> Having money to spend on food for a meeting means that people can focus on
>> getting work done, not on searching for food between meetings. People on
>> committees are dedicated, and I don't think that food is generally an
>> incentive. But, I do think that food helps make meetings more productive.
>>
>> Janet Li wrote:
>>
>>> I really like Catherine's idea of the collection jar for food for Senate
>>> meetings. I also agree with Paul that it doesn't seem all that necessary to
>>> have so much of our budget go towards providing food at committee meetings.
>>> People on committees should be dedicated enough to not need food as an
>>> incentive to come to meetings, anyway.
>>> ---
>>> Janet Li
>>> Baker Senator
>>> MIT Class of 2012
>>> Dept. of Biological Engineering
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:07 PM, Paul Youchak <youchakp@mit.edu<mailto:
>>> youchakp@mit.edu>> wrote:
>>>
>>> A few comments:
>>>
>>> A quick calculation for this years budget makes the cost spent on
>>> food for meetings for various committees (and poland spring water)
>>> to be 5675 dollars which is 14% of our budget. This seems to be a
>>> pretty large sum and percentage. Saving this money and giving it to
>>> Finboard would be quite significant.
>>>
>>> I understand the logic in moving the Senate elections to the fall so
>>> that Freshmen could participate. This being said, I think it would
>>> be worth considering revising this and moving the elections back to
>>> the Spring. We could withhold a few open Freshman seats to be run
>>> with the class council (independent of living group) allowing for
>>> their inclusion in the fall as well. This process should allow
>>> Senators for the coming year to be involved in the budgeting process
>>> and any other events which might be taking place. For instance this
>>> would have allowed for the Senators to help the Exec on the task
>>> force report this year and get involved in other projects as soon as
>>> the school year begin. Returning senators would also feel a greater
>>> obligation to be involved instead of waiting for the fall session to
>>> start.
>>>
>>> I, being a new Senator this year, do feel that I have relatively no
>>> idea what is going on for these discussion and because of it do not
>>> feel it is my place to question the judgment of those who know much
>>> more about the topic than I.
>>>
>>> back to work,
>>>
>>> Paul
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Catherine Olsson wrote:
>>>
>>> I strongly agree with Alex S's sentiments that we should favor
>>> putting money towards student groups instead of our own
>>> initiatives. I think at the very least, as Andrew brought up, we
>>> should hold ourselves to the same standard as Finboard holds
>>> student groups (which will be easier if Finboard's standards
>>> become more clearly stated and publicized as recommended by the
>>> FPRC). If we don't hold ourselves to the same standards as the
>>> groups we're withholding money from, then it seems clear to me
>>> that the money is not going to its best use.*
>>>
>>> Thanks, Andrew, for the relevant history. Would it make sense
>>> for us to extend the period of the summer budget through the
>>> second meeting of the subsequent fall's Senate session? It seems
>>> like this would prevent money from being spent before the fall
>>> budget is approved, as happened with Athletics Weekend and other
>>> expenditures this cycle.
>>>
>>> I would also be in favor of putting a collection jar out at
>>> Senate, Exec, and committee meetings so that we can pay for some
>>> of our own food. I greatly appreciate having food at Senate
>>> meetings, as it means I don't need to worry about finding dinner
>>> on an evening which is already very busy. However, paying a few
>>> bucks for the food I eat so that we aren't entirely taxing the
>>> student body for meals most of them don't eat (even though
>>> they're welcome to) seems very reasonable. Other students who
>>> come to meetings would still be able to eat the food and would
>>> be encouraged to chip in, too. Does anyone else agree?
>>>
>>> I'm very glad we're discussing this issue. Given that next
>>> term's budgeting is starting soon, I think now is exactly the
>>> right time to pull our thoughts together.
>>>
>>> - Catherine Olsson, Random Hall Senator and Senate
>>> Representative to Finboard
>>>
>>>
>>> *It should be noted that much of the funding denied to student
>>> groups by Finboard is because the groups' proposals seem not
>>> well-planned-out or not worth the money (such as t-shirts), not
>>> _because_ Finboard doesn't have enough money. But if Finboard
>>> had more money, we could relax some of our guidelines, enabling
>>> us to fund more conferences, fund capital such as costumes and
>>> musical instruments more than our current caps, fund more
>>> travel, enable groups that maintain a library (such as MITSFS
>>> and Anime Club) to acquire more new material, and allow groups
>>> who wish to hold a vast number of events to hold all their
>>> events and not just some.
>>>
>>>
>>> Andrew Lukmann wrote:
>>>
>>> If Alex's sentiments are shared by a number of other new
>>> senators... it might be time to re-investigate the timing of
>>> future budget approvals as well.
>>>
>>> History:
>>> In the somewhat distant past (6-7+ years ago) Senate was
>>> elected in the Spring with the incoming UA P/VP. As a
>>> result, the incoming Senate and the incoming administration
>>> worked together to compile and approve a budget before the
>>> Summer. However, with a number of changes to the living
>>> group constituencies, most importantly Freshmen on Campus,
>>> the decision was made to move Senate elections to the Fall
>>> to allow freshmen to vote (and run in) the Senate contest.
>>> From what I recall, the first year of this change, the Fall
>>> budget was actually voted upon by the outgoing Senate,
>>> allowing the administration to have a complete and approved
>>> budget to operate on over the summer, during orientation and
>>> during the Fall term. This, however, served to largely
>>> hamstring the newly-elected Senate regarding financial
>>> policy until at least the Spring budget was discussed in
>>> December. As a result, this was altered (about 5 years ago)
>>> to the current arrangement where the outgoing Senate (in the
>>> spring) grants an advance for the administration to utilize
>>> over the Summer/Orientation which is disbursed by the
>>> ExecComm in lieu of Senate. Then the Fall budget is taken up
>>> and approved by the new Senate when it is finally assembled
>>> and called to order by early-mid October.
>>>
>>> Problems:
>>> It seems that in an effort to address problems of the past,
>>> we in past UA administrations (and past sessions of Senate)
>>> have helped to create new problems. It seems that even
>>> though the intent of moving Fall budget approval to the Fall
>>> was to empower new Senators, this has been less than
>>> effective. New senators are just beginning to find their way
>>> and are reticent to question the wisdom of a budget handed
>>> to them by more experienced officers like the President,
>>> Treasurer and (often) Speaker. Situations are also
>>> encountered where the executive assumes that certain
>>> budgetary line items will be approved and preemptively
>>> spends the money (such as Athletics Weekend), effectively
>>> circumventing Senate's oversight responsibility. Not having
>>> an approved budget until mid October also hampers the
>>> ability of the Executive and it's Committees to engage in
>>> activities and programming early in the term.
>>>
>>> If other people in the UA agree that this is an important
>>> enough issue, I encourage you to re-investigate the
>>> possibility of making changes in the budget calendar and
>>> taking a closer look at the pros and cons of different
>>> options. In the end, the balance will almost always be
>>> between empowering the current (or most recently) elected
>>> representatives and having an experienced enough group of
>>> Senators calling the shots that they can serve as a
>>> meaningful check against executive overreaching or "mission
>>> creep."
>>>
>>> Yours in the UA,
>>> Andrew L.
>>>
>>>
>>> Alex Schwendner wrote:
>>>
>>> I would like to advocate that our budgeting goal should
>>> be to allocate
>>> more money to student groups. Here's why:
>>>
>>> Our goal, as the Undergraduate Association, is to make
>>> things better
>>> for undergraduates. When it comes to money, this means
>>> that we should
>>> see that money gets spent on the things which most
>>> benefit MIT
>>> undergraduates. This might mean that we spend the money
>>> ourselves or
>>> this might mean that we give it to student groups who
>>> can use it.
>>> There are plenty of student groups who do wonderful and
>>> amazing
>>> things. All of us can think of student groups which get
>>> much of their
>>> funding from the UA which have made our time at MIT more
>>> worthwhile.
>>> Our goal, as the UA, should not be to do awesome things,
>>> but rather to
>>> see that awesome things get done.
>>>
>>> Sometimes, of course, this will mean that we should
>>> spend money on
>>> projects conceived by the UA and sometimes this will
>>> mean that we
>>> should give money to student groups. However, there is a
>>> natural,
>>> institutional bias toward spending the money ourselves.
>>> We need to
>>> fight that bias. Since we, the UA, get first crack at
>>> the money, it's
>>> easy to think of cool things which we can do with the
>>> money while
>>> forgetting about the very real and very cool things
>>> which student
>>> groups will *not* be able to do without that money. We
>>> can see this
>>> "mission creep" in UA funding in the way that the money
>>> allocated to
>>> UA committees has increased in past years. Yes, the UA
>>> does more with
>>> the increased money, but it is not always clear that
>>> it's spent better
>>> than it could be spent by student groups. The standards
>>> which hold for
>>> receiving funding from the UA general budget should be
>>> analogous to
>>> the standards which hold for receiving funding from UA
>>> Finboard. I
>>> will note that while UA committees received basically
>>> everything that
>>> they asked for in the Fall UA budget, student groups
>>> which applied to
>>> UA Finboard received less than 30% of their requests in
>>> the most
>>> recent funding cycle.
>>>
>>> Therefore, during the Spring 2010 budgeting process, I
>>> intend to push
>>> for allocating more money for student groups. Projects
>>> which we choose
>>> not to fund from the UA general budget can seek funding
>>> through UA
>>> Finboard, from LEF or ARCADE, from the MIT
>>> Administration, or from
>>> other funding sources.
>>>
>>> Please discuss.
>>>
>>> Alex Schwendner
>>>
>>> On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:52 AM, Alex Dehnert (UA
>>> Treasurer)
>>> <ua-treasurer@mit.edu <mailto:ua-treasurer@mit.edu>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> As several people have pointed out, the UA
>>> spends quite a bit of money on
>>> events (about a third of last semester's budget)
>>> and focused projects (like
>>> PLUS --- about a tenth of last semester's UA
>>> budget). As Andrew Lukmann
>>> pointed out last week, committees are spending
>>> almost twice as much in Fall
>>> 2009's budget as in Spring 2007's budget.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, it is now a little bit late to
>>> make major changes to the
>>> Fall 2009 budget. Last week's meeting was
>>> intended to allow that, and we
>>> spent a great deal of time on it then. I also
>>> solicited feedback late Friday
>>> night (or really Saturday morning), and didn't
>>> receive any. Of course, you
>>> are well within your rights to amend the budget
>>> at this point. (Though
>>> Athletics Weekend has already happened, so I'd
>>> rather you didn't amend
>>> that...)
>>>
>>> However, the Spring 2010 budget has not begun
>>> being compiled. In preparing
>>> the the Fall 2009 budget, I (and I believe
>>> committee chairs and the Special
>>> Budgetary Committee) generally followed
>>> precedent as to events and amounts.
>>>
>>> In some sense, there are (at least) two options
>>> for guiding principles to
>>> take in producing the budget:
>>> (1) Many of the UA-run events are more useful
>>> than the events and
>>> programming (Finboard-funded) student groups
>>> would spend the money on
>>> (2) Alternatively, that events and programs such
>>> as Athletics Weekend or
>>> PLUS aren't worth taking the money away from
>>> those student groups
>>>
>>> We've recently been defaulting to the former
>>> guiding principle. However, I
>>> would encourage the Senate to seriously consider
>>> which is preferable and
>>> pass appropriate legislation indicating a
>>> preference.
>>>
>>> I would be *thrilled* to have such guidance, and
>>> would happily incorporate
>>> it into next semester's budget. (I warn you,
>>> however, that committee chairs
>>> will probably be asked to begin budgeting in
>>> about two weeks.)
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Alex Dehnert
>>> UA Treasurer
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> --
>> Adam Bockelie
>> 801.209.7233
>> <bockelie@mit.edu>
>>
>> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>> Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
>> Class of 2011
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Jason Alexander Scott
> Class Council President
> MIT Class of 2010
>
>
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This argument neglects the differences in size between the UA and the senio=
r class council, the difference in budget size, and the difference in man-h=
ours of work.=A0 How often does the senior class council meet?=A0 How long =
are the meetings?=A0 Surely none of them are like the 9.5-hour senate meeti=
ng we had at the end of last semester...=A0 I think you're comparing ve=
ry different things here.<br>
<br>-hwkns<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 12:07 =
AM, Jason Scott <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:jascott88@gmail.com=
">jascott88@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_q=
uote" style=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0=
pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I don't generally respond to these threads, but I just feel somewhat st=
rongly against food at meetings.<br><br>Not once in our four years has our =
council sponsored food at our meetings. If having food at meetings is so im=
portant for efficiency, can people not simply bring their own food to the m=
eeting?<br>
<br>I'm a strong believer in having committee members being rewarded fo=
r hardwork/planning. But I think that 14% of a budget spent on the committe=
e members themselves, is somewhat excessive.<br><br>How would people react =
if last year's senior class council spent over $30K on food for only 8 =
people?<br>
<br>-Jason<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div class=3D"im">On Wed, Oct =
14, 2009 at 11:58 PM, Adam Bockelie <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto=
:bockelie@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">bockelie@mit.edu</a>></span> wrote:=
<br></div>
<div><div></div><div class=3D"h5"><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=
=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; p=
adding-left: 1ex;">
I would disagree. =A0Being part of a committee/senate/anything else in the =
UA is a lot of work, and most people are already busy with other activities=
. =A0Having money to spend on food for a meeting means that people can focu=
s on getting work done, not on searching for food between =A0meetings. =A0P=
eople on committees are dedicated, and I don't think that food is gener=
ally an incentive. =A0But, I do think that food helps make meetings more pr=
oductive.<br>
<br>
Janet Li wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, =
204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div>
I really like Catherine's idea of the collection jar for food for Senat=
e meetings. I also agree with Paul that it doesn't seem all that necess=
ary to have so much of our budget go towards providing food at committee me=
etings. People on committees should be dedicated enough to not need food as=
an incentive to come to meetings, anyway.<br>
---<br>
Janet Li<br>
Baker Senator<br>
MIT Class of 2012<br>
Dept. of Biological Engineering<br>
<br>
<br></div><div><div></div><div>
On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:07 PM, Paul Youchak <<a href=3D"mailto:youcha=
kp@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">youchakp@mit.edu</a> <mailto:<a href=3D"ma=
ilto:youchakp@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">youchakp@mit.edu</a>>> wrote=
:<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0A few comments:<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0A quick calculation for this years budget makes the cost spent on<b=
r>
=A0 =A0food for meetings for various committees (and poland spring water)<=
br>
=A0 =A0to be 5675 dollars which is 14% of our budget. =A0This seems to be =
a<br>
=A0 =A0pretty large sum and percentage. =A0Saving this money and giving it=
to<br>
=A0 =A0Finboard would be quite significant.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0I understand the logic in moving the Senate elections to the fall s=
o<br>
=A0 =A0that Freshmen could participate. =A0This being said, I think it wou=
ld<br>
=A0 =A0be worth considering revising this and moving the elections back to=
<br>
=A0 =A0the Spring. =A0We could withhold a few open Freshman seats to be ru=
n<br>
=A0 =A0with the class council (independent of living group) allowing for<b=
r>
=A0 =A0their inclusion in the fall as well. =A0This process should allow<b=
r>
=A0 =A0Senators for the coming year to be involved in the budgeting proces=
s<br>
=A0 =A0and any other events which might be taking place. =A0For instance t=
his<br>
=A0 =A0would have allowed for the Senators to help the Exec on the task<br=
>
=A0 =A0force report this year and get involved in other projects as soon a=
s<br>
=A0 =A0the school year begin. =A0Returning senators would also feel a grea=
ter<br>
=A0 =A0obligation to be involved instead of waiting for the fall session t=
o<br>
=A0 =A0start.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0I, being a new Senator this year, do feel that I have relatively no=
<br>
=A0 =A0idea what is going on for these discussion and because of it do not=
<br>
=A0 =A0feel it is my place to question the judgment of those who know much=
<br>
=A0 =A0more about the topic than I.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0back to work,<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0Paul<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0Catherine Olsson wrote:<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0I strongly agree with Alex S's sentiments that we shoul=
d favor<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0putting money towards student groups instead of our own<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0initiatives. I think at the very least, as Andrew brought u=
p, we<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0should hold ourselves to the same standard as Finboard hold=
s<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0student groups (which will be easier if Finboard's stan=
dards<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0become more clearly stated and publicized as recommended by=
the<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0FPRC). If we don't hold ourselves to the same standards=
as the<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0groups we're withholding money from, then it seems clea=
r to me<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0that the money is not going to its best use.*<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Thanks, Andrew, for the relevant history. Would it make sen=
se<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0for us to extend the period of the summer budget through th=
e<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0second meeting of the subsequent fall's Senate session?=
It seems<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0like this would prevent money from being spent before the f=
all<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0budget is approved, as happened with Athletics Weekend and =
other<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0expenditures this cycle.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0I would also be in favor of putting a collection jar out at=
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Senate, Exec, and committee meetings so that we can pay for=
some<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0of our own food. I greatly appreciate having food at Senate=
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0meetings, as it means I don't need to worry about findi=
ng dinner<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0on an evening which is already very busy. However, paying a=
few<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0bucks for the food I eat so that we aren't entirely tax=
ing the<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0student body for meals most of them don't eat (even tho=
ugh<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0they're welcome to) seems very reasonable. Other studen=
ts who<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0come to meetings would still be able to eat the food and wo=
uld<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0be encouraged to chip in, too. Does anyone else agree?<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0I'm very glad we're discussing this issue. Given th=
at next<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0term's budgeting is starting soon, I think now is exact=
ly the<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0right time to pull our thoughts together.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0- Catherine Olsson, Random Hall Senator and Senate<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Representative to Finboard<br>
<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0*It should be noted that much of the funding denied to stud=
ent<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0groups by Finboard is because the groups' proposals see=
m not<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0well-planned-out or not worth the money (such as t-shirts),=
not<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0_because_ Finboard doesn't have enough money. But if Fi=
nboard<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0had more money, we could relax some of our guidelines, enab=
ling<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0us to fund more conferences, fund capital such as costumes =
and<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0musical instruments more than our current caps, fund more<b=
r>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0travel, enable groups that maintain a library (such as MITS=
FS<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0and Anime Club) to acquire more new material, and allow gro=
ups<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0who wish to hold a vast number of events to hold all their<=
br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0events and not just some.<br>
<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Andrew Lukmann wrote:<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0If Alex's sentiments are shared by a number of =
other new<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0senators... it might be time to re-investigate the =
timing of<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0future budget approvals as well.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0History:<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0In the somewhat distant past (6-7+ years ago) Senat=
e was<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0elected in the Spring with the incoming UA P/VP. As=
a<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0result, the incoming Senate and the incoming admini=
stration<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0worked together to compile and approve a budget bef=
ore the<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Summer. However, with a number of changes to the li=
ving<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0group constituencies, most importantly Freshmen on =
Campus,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0the decision was made to move Senate elections to t=
he Fall<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0to allow freshmen to vote (and run in) the Senate c=
ontest.<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 From what I recall, the first year of this change,=
the Fall<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0budget was actually voted upon by the outgoing Sena=
te,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0allowing the administration to have a complete and =
approved<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0budget to operate on over the summer, during orient=
ation and<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0during the Fall term. This, however, served to larg=
ely<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0hamstring the newly-elected Senate regarding financ=
ial<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0policy until at least the Spring budget was discuss=
ed in<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0December. As a result, this was altered (about 5 ye=
ars ago)<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0to the current arrangement where the outgoing Senat=
e (in the<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0spring) grants an advance for the administration to=
utilize<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0over the Summer/Orientation which is disbursed by t=
he<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0ExecComm in lieu of Senate. Then the Fall budget is=
taken up<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0and approved by the new Senate when it is finally a=
ssembled<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0and called to order by early-mid October.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Problems:<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0It seems that in an effort to address problems of t=
he past,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0we in past UA administrations (and past sessions of=
Senate)<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0have helped to create new problems. It seems that e=
ven<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0though the intent of moving Fall budget approval to=
the Fall<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0was to empower new Senators, this has been less tha=
n<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0effective. New senators are just beginning to find =
their way<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0and are reticent to question the wisdom of a budget=
handed<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0to them by more experienced officers like the Presi=
dent,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Treasurer and (often) Speaker. Situations are also<=
br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0encountered where the executive assumes that certai=
n<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0budgetary line items will be approved and preemptiv=
ely<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0spends the money (such as Athletics Weekend), effec=
tively<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0circumventing Senate's oversight responsibility=
. Not having<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0an approved budget until mid October also hampers t=
he<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0ability of the Executive and it's Committees to=
engage in<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0activities and programming early in the term.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0If other people in the UA agree that this is an imp=
ortant<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0enough issue, I encourage you to re-investigate the=
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0possibility of making changes in the budget calenda=
r and<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0taking a closer look at the pros and cons of differ=
ent<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0options. In the end, the balance will almost always=
be<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0between empowering the current (or most recently) e=
lected<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0representatives and having an experienced enough gr=
oup of<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Senators calling the shots that they can serve as a=
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0meaningful check against executive overreaching or =
"mission<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0creep."<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Yours in the UA,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Andrew L.<br>
<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Alex Schwendner wrote:<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0I would like to advocate that our budgeting=
goal should<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0be to allocate<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0more money to student groups. Here's wh=
y:<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Our goal, as the Undergraduate Association,=
is to make<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0things better<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0for undergraduates. When it comes to money,=
this means<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0that we should<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0see that money gets spent on the things whi=
ch most<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0benefit MIT<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0undergraduates. This might mean that we spe=
nd the money<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0ourselves or<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0this might mean that we give it to student =
groups who<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0can use it.<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0There are plenty of student groups who do w=
onderful and<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0amazing<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0things. All of us can think of student grou=
ps which get<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0much of their<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0funding from the UA which have made our tim=
e at MIT more<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0worthwhile.<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Our goal, as the UA, should not be to do aw=
esome things,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0but rather to<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0see that awesome things get done.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Sometimes, of course, this will mean that w=
e should<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0spend money on<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0projects conceived by the UA and sometimes =
this will<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0mean that we<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0should give money to student groups. Howeve=
r, there is a<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0natural,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0institutional bias toward spending the mone=
y ourselves.<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0We need to<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0fight that bias. Since we, the UA, get firs=
t crack at<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0the money, it's<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0easy to think of cool things which we can d=
o with the<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0money while<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0forgetting about the very real and very coo=
l things<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0which student<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0groups will *not* be able to do without tha=
t money. We<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0can see this<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0"mission creep" in UA funding in =
the way that the money<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0allocated to<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0UA committees has increased in past years. =
Yes, the UA<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0does more with<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0the increased money, but it is not always c=
lear that<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0it's spent better<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0than it could be spent by student groups. T=
he standards<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0which hold for<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0receiving funding from the UA general budge=
t should be<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0analogous to<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0the standards which hold for receiving fund=
ing from UA<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Finboard. I<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0will note that while UA committees received=
basically<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0everything that<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0they asked for in the Fall UA budget, stude=
nt groups<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0which applied to<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0UA Finboard received less than 30% of their=
requests in<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0the most<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0recent funding cycle.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Therefore, during the Spring 2010 budgeting=
process, I<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0intend to push<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0for allocating more money for student group=
s. Projects<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0which we choose<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0not to fund from the UA general budget can =
seek funding<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0through UA<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Finboard, from LEF or ARCADE, from the MIT<=
br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Administration, or from<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0other funding sources.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Please discuss.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Alex Schwendner<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:52 AM, Alex Dehn=
ert (UA<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Treasurer)<br></div></div><div><div></div><=
div>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0<<a href=3D"mailto:ua-treasurer@mit.edu"=
target=3D"_blank">ua-treasurer@mit.edu</a> <mailto:<a href=3D"mailto:ua=
-treasurer@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua-treasurer@mit.edu</a>>> wrot=
e:<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 <br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0As several people have poin=
ted out, the UA<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0spends quite a bit of money=
on<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0events (about a third of la=
st semester's budget)<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0and focused projects (like<=
br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0PLUS --- about a tenth of l=
ast semester's UA<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0budget). As Andrew Lukmann<=
br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0pointed out last week, comm=
ittees are spending<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0almost twice as much in Fal=
l<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A02009's budget as in Spr=
ing 2007's budget.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Unfortunately, it is now a =
little bit late to<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0make major changes to the<b=
r>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Fall 2009 budget. Last week=
's meeting was<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0intended to allow that, and=
we<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0spent a great deal of time =
on it then. I also<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0solicited feedback late Fri=
day<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0night (or really Saturday m=
orning), and didn't<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0receive any. Of course, you=
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0are well within your rights=
to amend the budget<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0at this point. (Though<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Athletics Weekend has alrea=
dy happened, so I'd<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0rather you didn't amend=
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0that...)<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0However, the Spring 2010 bu=
dget has not begun<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0being compiled. In preparin=
g<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0the the Fall 2009 budget, I=
(and I believe<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0committee chairs and the Sp=
ecial<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Budgetary Committee) genera=
lly followed<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0precedent as to events and =
amounts.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0In some sense, there are (a=
t least) two options<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0for guiding principles to<b=
r>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0take in producing the budge=
t:<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0(1) Many of the UA-run even=
ts are more useful<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0than the events and<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0programming (Finboard-funde=
d) student groups<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0would spend the money on<br=
>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0(2) Alternatively, that eve=
nts and programs such<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0as Athletics Weekend or<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0PLUS aren't worth takin=
g the money away from<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0those student groups<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0We've recently been def=
aulting to the former<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0guiding principle. However,=
I<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0would encourage the Senate =
to seriously consider<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0which is preferable and<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0pass appropriate legislatio=
n indicating a<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0preference.<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0I would be *thrilled* to ha=
ve such guidance, and<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0would happily incorporate<b=
r>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0it into next semester's=
budget. (I warn you,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0however, that committee cha=
irs<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0will probably be asked to b=
egin budgeting in<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0about two weeks.)<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Thanks,<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Alex Dehnert<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0UA Treasurer<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</div></div></blockquote><font color=3D"#888888">
<br>
-- <br>
Adam Bockelie<br>
801.209.7233<br>
<<a href=3D"mailto:bockelie@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">bockelie@mit.edu<=
/a>><br>
<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering<br>
Class of 2011<br>
</font></blockquote></div></div></div><font color=3D"#888888"><br><br clear=
=3D"all"><br>-- <br>Jason Alexander Scott<br>Class Council President<br>MIT=
Class of 2010<br><br>
</font></blockquote></div><br>
--0015174c3a6ac7a5bf0475f18e0f--
