The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate voted Sunday to co-sponsor the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL)'s 25th Annual Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) Symposium following a heated discussion.
The Senate will give EPIIC $7,500 from its surplus funds with the condition that undergraduates be admitted free of charge to the symposium, which will open Feb. 17.
The debate surrounding the decision was highly contentious, with the Senate finally voting 12-11 by roll call after a vigorous debate.
TCU Assistant Treasurer Ard Ardalan, a freshman, argued that funding EPIIC lay beyond the Senate's mandate. "It clearly states in our bylaws that our money is meant for TCU student groups," he said.
On the other side of the debate, Junior Senator Bruce Ratain viewed the move as a one-time-only exception. "This situation is unique in that the normal funding source for the symposium has been temporarily frozen due to the financial crisis," he said.
Due to the recession, the symposium's endowment has been frozen, prompting IGL Director Sherman Teichman to request a $10,000 gift from the Senate last week.
Treasurer Aaron Bartel said that the final $7,500 figure recommended to the entire body by the Allocations Board (ALBO) was a compromise between non-majority factions in favor of and opposed to giving money to EPIIC.
Teichman said the Senate's money would finance travel and living expenses for speakers, who are flown in from across the globe and not paid honorarium.
He applauded the Senate's eventual decision and said it was justified for the body to promote a vibrant academic scene on campus.
"The reason why a student comes to this campus is for intellectual life," Teichman said. "Most of the Senate understands this ... It's not a question of just the money. It should be the intrinsic responsibility of Senate to support intellectual life."
The funding debate provoked a discussion about the role of the Senate's funding allocations and had many questioning the Senate's ability to give out funds to multiple organizations.
Senate Historian Tomas Valdes did not believe that an exception should be made for EPIIC.
"They're experiencing the same endowment decreases as every other university organization," said Valdes, a junior. "I felt giving them money would be giving them special treatment."
Associate Treasurer Kate de Klerk disagreed, however, stating that other organizations' requests would have been considered on their own merits, but none were made.
According to de Klerk, a sophomore, the funds would have lain dormant in an account had they not been used for EPIIC.
"In the past, the surplus money was not used," de Klerk said. "Not spending the surplus doesn't help anyone."
Bartel, a sophomore, clarified that money for student groups usually comes from the buffer fund and not the surplus, so this funding decision would not affect other groups' requests.
"There is no set purpose for [the surplus] money," he said. "Generally it has been spent in the same manner we spent this money on EPIIC. The Senate finds something that it thinks is worth funding."
Bartel added that about $60,000 remains in the surplus and explained that the Senate's co-sponsorship fund contains $1,400, requiring the body to approve a transfer from the surplus to accommodate EPIIC's request. Typical co-sponsorships cost less than $200.
Trustee Representative Adam Weldai disagreed with the random nature of the final decision.
"If we were going to fund it, we should have just given them the whole $10,000," said Weldai, a senior. "The biggest problem I had with Sunday was picking a number that was totally arbitrary."
He also feared Sunday's decision could lead to the Senate funding other groups.
"The Senate set a precedent that if you can appeal to us and you can tug on our heartstrings, we'll bail you out," Weldai said. "That's irresponsible."
Ratain, an EPIIC alumnus, said that each speaker was valuable to the symposium experience.
"If this contribution means that more speakers can come who wouldn't be able to do so, then that could contribute to the quality of the symposium, providing added benefit to students," he said.
The Senate's gift of $7,500 is countered by the loss of ticket sales, which usually generate between $2,000 and $4,000 in revenue, according to Teichman.
He estimated that the symposium would cost a total of $36,000, covering transportation, housing and food expenses of international speakers for four days and called the Senate's co-sponsorship "a decisive difference."
Teichman added that EPIIC brings value to the campus beyond the symposium, citing the Questions Without Answers gallery, which was donated to Tufts for free.
"If the university had to pay for it, it would be in the range of one hundred thousand dollars," he said.
