Spring Break
A cappella groups seek charter to gain funding
by Greta Moran
Staff writer
News | 12/9/08
Posted online at 2:19 AM EST on 12/9/08
Not only do Brandeis' 11 a cappella groups rely solely on their voices, they also depend on out-of-pocket funds to pay for everything they do. President of Too Cheap for Instruments Rebecca Sniderman '10 explained that she resorts to selling baked goods, raking leaves, shoveling snow and babysitting to raise money. Music director of Rather Be Giraffes Dan Newman '09 opts for the more straightforward route of begging his parents for donations.
In order to spend less time scrimping for funds, Newman has been working with Senators Alex Melman '11, Eric Alterman '09 and Andrew Brooks '09 to determine how a cappella groups could meet the Student Union's standard for chartering.
A chartered organization may approach the Finance Board for funding requests. By demonstrating wide interest, non-exclusivity and showing that no other club has the same purpose (referred to as duality of purpose), a group can petition the Senate for charter status. A cappella at Brandeis has traditionally been seen as an exclusive activity because it holds auditions; however, that notion has been challenged in the past year by A Cappella Etc., an umbrella organization for a cappella that was founded last year. With this philosophy redefining a cappella at Brandeis, A Cappella Etc. has taken steps to change conventions.
Currently, the prevailing idea is to charter A Cappella Etc. By chartering it as a single entity, the Senate would not have to take into consideration the duality of purpose bylaw. This bylaw could become a factor if a cappella groups were to individually go before the Senate to be chartered. Melman explained in an e-mail that "Groups such as Starving Artists and Rather Be Giraffes, which are both coed a cappella groups with no specific genre of song, might fall under duality of purpose."
The proposal to charter A Cappella Etc. is expected to go before the Senate before the end of this academic year. A similar proposal to charter A Cappella Etc. was brought before the Senate last spring, but did not pass because it gave A Cappella Etc. too much financial power. "It functioned as a middleman, which would act as a proxy for a cappella groups to seek funds and then apportion them directly to each group. This was probably unconstitutional, and the Senate voted not to charter A Cappella Etc. at that time," wrote Melman in an e-mail.
In order to spend less time scrimping for funds, Newman has been working with Senators Alex Melman '11, Eric Alterman '09 and Andrew Brooks '09 to determine how a cappella groups could meet the Student Union's standard for chartering.
A chartered organization may approach the Finance Board for funding requests. By demonstrating wide interest, non-exclusivity and showing that no other club has the same purpose (referred to as duality of purpose), a group can petition the Senate for charter status. A cappella at Brandeis has traditionally been seen as an exclusive activity because it holds auditions; however, that notion has been challenged in the past year by A Cappella Etc., an umbrella organization for a cappella that was founded last year. With this philosophy redefining a cappella at Brandeis, A Cappella Etc. has taken steps to change conventions.
Currently, the prevailing idea is to charter A Cappella Etc. By chartering it as a single entity, the Senate would not have to take into consideration the duality of purpose bylaw. This bylaw could become a factor if a cappella groups were to individually go before the Senate to be chartered. Melman explained in an e-mail that "Groups such as Starving Artists and Rather Be Giraffes, which are both coed a cappella groups with no specific genre of song, might fall under duality of purpose."
The proposal to charter A Cappella Etc. is expected to go before the Senate before the end of this academic year. A similar proposal to charter A Cappella Etc. was brought before the Senate last spring, but did not pass because it gave A Cappella Etc. too much financial power. "It functioned as a middleman, which would act as a proxy for a cappella groups to seek funds and then apportion them directly to each group. This was probably unconstitutional, and the Senate voted not to charter A Cappella Etc. at that time," wrote Melman in an e-mail.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
RememberTheNinth
Bill Wilt, HC, '63
posted 12/28/08 @ 12:47 AM EST
While instrumentless singing is OK, at least when the groups don't drift too far north or too far south, I think it's unfair to disorganized musicians, whether from Bremen Town or not. (Continued…)
Warren B. '95
posted 12/30/08 @ 1:00 PM EST
What happened to the chartered club Bands of Brandeis (BOB)? The whole "duality of purpose" issue becomes moot when there's an umbrella group for _every_ band. (Continued…)
andy
posted 1/08/09 @ 12:00 AM EST
the university should fund struggling departments like classics and german, not clubs that provoke exclusives
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