Student Assembly

Organization: Class Councils
Date: November 5th, 2012

The Appropriations Committee felt Class Councils filled a very necessary role on campus in that it was the only byline funded organization whose primary goal was the induce a sense of class community, which the committee felt was incredibly important. However, the committee felt that funds were currently not being utilized to their full efficiency and that Class Councils could make a number of operational improvements in the next year.

Committee members recommended that Class Councils internally develop a funding distribution system that would dictate how much of the allocation each class should spend. The committee would like to see upwards of 70% of funds be directed to the Freshman and Senior classes under this framework. Such a system should also include measures which would prevent classes from exceeding their predetermined allocations.

Additionally, members of the Appropriations Committee found it important for Class Councils to use their existing funds to more directly target their goal of creating class unity. Rather than reverting to the historic practices of giveaways and barbecues, committee members encourage Class Councils to be more innovative in its approaches (ie. sponsoring a day where any student wearing the t-shirt of a specific class got a free bagel at CTB). Committee members believe that redirecting funds towards more targeted events such as these and developing quantifiable efficiency goals (such as attendance or $ spent/student) will greatly improve the scope of Class Council’s impact.

The committee also felt that practices could be implemented to improve current efficiency. For one, members felt that Class Councils should increase advertising as the scope of students that is knowledgeable about Class Councils opportunities is currently small. The committee also recommended that Class Councils acquire accurate feedback from students both before and after programming. For example, while hosting focus groups was seen as a good idea, the Committee felt that these groups should consist of more students (10–20) who come from various social groups and parts of campus.

Finally, Committee members did not look favorably upon Class Council’s requirement that candidates for election must have attended three meetings during the previous semester. Members believe this excluded potential involvement and strongly suggests that this system be returned to the previous model before the upcoming spring election.

Overall, the committee felt Class Council’s filled a necessary void on campus but could do much to improve its efficiency. As a result, under its current structure and operations the committee voted that the organization did not require its current level of funding.

Respectfully submitted,

Roneal Desai ‘13
Vice President for Finance
Student Assembly