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BY AARON WASSERMAN

In print | Published February 24, 2005

The Board of Managers will review the proposed 2005-2006 budget when it convenes for its third meeting of the academic year this weekend, beginning Friday, Feb. 25. The proposal includes the new, monumental staff compensation package that the board approved at its previous meeting last December.

Suzanne Welsh, treasurer and vice president for finance, would reveal neither how the administration has readjusted next year’s budget to incorporate the new staff compensation nor which of the college’s financial resources would be dedicated to its funding. One proposed method for funding the new staff compensation is raising tuition by a greater percentage than the normal annual increase. She also declined to disclose what next year’s tuition costs will be.

Welsh did say that all academic departments are required to maintain the same budget next year as they have this year. She also noted that to make the financial aid package more enticing, the budget has been designed to lessen students’ work-study contributions to their financial aid programs. The budget also represents the college’s effort to improve faculty and staff members’ retirement options.

“We feel fortunate that we were able to include our priority needs and create a balanced budget, but the constrained financial situation continues and we don’t have room for many new initiatives,” she said.

A full report on the budget will be released on Monday after it receives the board’s official approval. The President’s Office and the board’s Finance Committee have already endorsed the proposal.

On Friday afternoon, the board’s Social Responsibility and Student Activity Committees will hold a special joint meeting that will feature presentations by three prominent, socially active student groups — Students Against Violence Everywhere Are Us, Swarthmore Sudan and the Swarthmore Voter Registration Coalition. These committees’ meetings do not usually feature such heavy student contributions.

Andrew Sniderman ‘07, Swarthmore Sudan’s vice president, said about the group’s presentation plans: “In December, when we first met with the board, we presented an idea. Now we have a living project and a well-formulated package. We have a lengthier endorsement list and have begun formally asking alumni for donations, and we’re hoping to impress that we’re doing quite well.”

Emiliano Rodriguez ‘05, a member of the Swarthmore College Divestment Task Force, will give a presentation to the board about how the college can apply institutional pressure on the Sudanese economy. He said that because Swarthmore does not have any direct investment in companies operating in Sudan, it consequently does not have direct control over its shareholdings. Instead, he will encourage the board and the college to use its institutional power as leverage to persuade the school’s international hedge fund managers to divest Swarthmore’s hedge funds from corporations potentially involved in Sudan.

“The task force’s suggestions are modeled after a shareholders’ resolution,” Rodriguez said. “But since our investments don’t have a direct connection to the international firms that they’re invested in, we’re pushing to facilitate communication between the college, its economic analysts and these firms.”

Rodriguez also noted that the divestment task force has experienced difficulty properly identifying which international firms are invested in Sudan, so another request he will make to the board is that the college use its shareholder leverage to urge companies to make their business transactions more transparent to the public.

The Swarthmore Voter Registration Coalition’s presentation will focus on its efforts to create a new student publication, Legislative Lens. Through the publication, SVRC hopes to provide students with reliable, frequent updates about local and Pennsylvanian politics. Legislative Lens’ first issue is currently in production and will probably be published shortly after spring break.

Legislative Lens’ Co-Editor Aaron Strong ‘06 believes that the publication’s development is integral to the group’s long-term future. “After registering 700 students for last year’s elections, [SVRC] realized that it’s incredibly important to inform students about local politics and build bridges with the surrounding communities,” Strong said. “We believe that it’s part of the college’s mission to be informed about local politics and are excited to convey our message to the board.”

Student Council, as is customary at all board meetings, has organized its own presentation at the Friday luncheon that precedes the Socially Responsible Committee’s meeting. The council is hosting a discussion about residential life on campus that will features talks from three Residential Assistants. The council specifically chose RAs from the New Dorm and Parrish to brief the board about the campus’ new and slightly compromised housing situations.

“In the past, [the council] has presented larger campus issues to the board, but this time we wanted to present a more quotidian aspect of student life,” Student Council Co-President Tom Evnen ’07 said.

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