Minutes for BC Meeting 10/16
In Attendance:
Abigail Xu (Treasurer)
Katarina Cruz
Karen Blake
David Zhang
Bryson
Hao Liu
Marie
Richard (absent)
RJ
Paul Gramieri (minutetaker)
1. Jazz@Amherst (represented by Daniela):
Request: Purchase of new mouthpieces for instruments in storage.
 Instruments are in storage for those who can’t afford/want to switch instruments (because
expensive).
 Want the instruments to have the same type/quality mouthpieces because two of the
instruments have bad plastic mouthpieces.
 Abigail asks if mouthpieces can be shared, and Daniela says they can be cleaned to be
reused.
 Abigail asks if the club is inclusive. Daniela says that everyone auditions, Bruce (head of
Jazz) asks people how they want to participate, and people are placed depending on what
size group they want to be in, but everyone gets in.
o Motion to fund $450, passes 7,0,0.
2. Magic Card Club (represented by Whit):
Request: Money for tournament fees.
 Going to another tournament with different format on October 26.
 Requests $120 for four people ($30/person).
o Motion to fund $120, passes 7,0,0.
3. La Causa (represented by Destiny):
Request: $200 funding for alumni dinner.
 Contacting alumni who are here for homecoming, small ~25/30 people max. Just need to
access money for dinner.
 Destiny says AAS funded in past, but Abigail does not find it in last year’s budget.
 Destiny: alumni mentors about how they can help in future, talks about Amherst, about
administration, etc. It’s mostly bonding. Potentially begin donor relationship.
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Abigail looks through budget, sees that they have $200 available for food funding.
Hao asks what else they will be doing at dinner. Destiny says that alumni will help
explain how to use Amherst as a resource.
Destiny clarifies for David and Kat that whomever shows up shows up. Depends on
which alumni come to homecoming.
Abigail asks if event is like Charles Drew House Society Club’s dinner.
Marie asks if they know which alumni will be there, Destiny says whomever shows up
shows up. They have an RSVP list, have been trying to contact (issues with listserv, but
using email and Facebook).
Still curious about whether or not this is valid “food funding” because it’s alumni dinner
and because other clubs will want similar food funding.
Karen: event seems exclusive in nature; some senators will have issues just like how they
had issues with Charles Drew premed dinner. Destiny says it’s technically open to public
because it’s publicized.
Bryson says that they have $200 to spend anyway.
Hao thinks it’s dangerous to fund because technically the AAS would have to give this
$200 to every club.
Is this funding a precedent? Is this funding for food the sake of having food? Kat supports
this, thinks this is food for the sake of food, but a discussion could exist without food.
Abigail suggests going to MRC, Destiny said they haven’t yet.
RJ- if we fund this, it’ll make it easier to fund other things like this in future with regards
to just alumni showing up.
Hao brings up precedent, and Abigail also says that other business clubs wanted food for
networking but they’ve been zeroed in the past.
David asks if the money is spent before the senate shoots it down. Abigail brings up
emergency funding, which will happen if money is spent before senate shoots it down.
Abigail- if we funded all of these food events, then we’d have to fund all of these other
events which can get expensive.
o Motion to zero passes 6,1,0.
4. Amnesty International (represented by Rosie):
Request: $20 for Western Massachusetts Conference.
 Rosie says that there’s a Western Mass conference, $5 admission fee per person.
 Abigail thought the funding was for transportation but Rosie clarified that it’s for
admission to conference, not transportation.
 Abigail says that they can emergency fund in the event that the conference happens
before senate approves, but the AAS usually funds conference fees.
o Motion to fund $20 passes 7,0,0.
5. Investing Club (represented by Chris):
Request: funding for Wall Street Excel course to teach members about features of Excel that are
useful in a business setting.
 Abigail asks how many people can use course, Chris says that everyone can do it.
 Abigail asks if the event can be publicized, and thinks that this should be publicized
especially because this should be open to everyone. Chris agrees, RJ doesn’t necessarily
think it’s an event.
 Discussions about how to specifically publicize (Abigail- publicize first event, others will
come. RJ-is it practical? Abigail- not posters, but posting on events calendar, so sent out
in email or ask career center to put on website).
 RJ and Abigail agree that they don’t then need the $10 to publicize.
 David asks why our school shows up on its website, asks if Career Center already has it.
 Chris not exactly sure, maybe Career Center has it or the course already is expired.
 Abigail doesn’t think it’s worth looking into, thinks it’s expired, RJ agreed.
 Bryson says that if Career Center has it then they would have advertised it but he hasn't
heard about it.
o Motion to fund $497 passes 7,0,0.
6. Baseball Sabermetrics club (intention to start club in January) (represented by Jason):
Request: funding for competition in NYU in November.
 Purpose of club: Look at baseball stats; funding provides opportunity for platform to go
forward with club.
 Funding for $275 a person (conference fee), 5 people able to go, total $1375.
 Abigail asks to clarify these 5 people, the conference is exclusive and can only bring 5
people but the club is not exclusive; says that conferences have to be publicized so that
everyone who wants to go can go.
 Jason- no limit in amount of teams from Amherst who can attend.
 Abigail asks if Jason wants to get $10 emergency funding for publicity.
 Abigail appropriates funding for publicity ($10), says to publicize so that they can
possibly get more people to go to event and advertise club.
 Jason to tell Abigail ASAP if there is another team going.
o Motion to fund conference fees ($1375) and emergency fund publicity ($10)
passes 7,0,0.
7. International Student Association (represented by Hao):
Request: Wants funding for Festival of Lights (Indian equivalent of Thanksgiving) asking $500
for food, $20 food, $10 publicity, $50 decoration, Battery operated diyas $50, clay pots $40,
glitter $10, henna tattoo lady $120.
 Abigail clarifies that utensils are not food funding.
 Hao says it’s inclusive to all students.
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Abigail: we fund $1500 per semester for cultural events, unlike just random $200 for
food. They fund this especially because this is a holiday, especially in terms of food since
it’s linked to holiday.
o Motion to fund $800 passes 6,0,1.