The Justice

SEE CLARIFICATION BELOW

The Student Union Senate decided to cut $2,000 in food and entertainment from the $5,000 budget of the Midnight Buffet, a long-standing exam period tradition sponsored by the Student Union that occurs one night during finals week.

The Midnight Buffet is an annual event at which students come to take a study break during finals week and are provided with free food and T-shirts at the buffet.

Kalynn Cook '11, who originally proposed the budget cut, explained her reasoning, "We, as students, are not taking our role seriously."

She added that in times of economic difficulty, having a $5,000 buffet is not "cost-beneficial."

Cook e-mailed the Brandeis Budget Cut Coalition listserv to inform the Brandeis community of the Midnight Buffet's typical budget in order to motivate students to talk to their senators about a cut.

Cook said she would ideally like "to cancel the event altogether, but then [the Senate] would have to change the constitutional bylaws."

Cook said she was ultimately pleased with the $2,000 budget cut but would prefer that this "silly tradition" be canceled altogether.

Nipun Marwaha '12, the Massell Quad Senator, however, said that he thought the Midnight Buffet is "a good idea that helps bring the community together."

He also said that he understands that budget cuts are necessary in light of current economic conditions,

He said, however, that cuts should be made across the board and "not [by] just cutting $2,000 from one thing."

Senator for the Class of 2012 Akash Vadalia, who is organizing the Midnight Buffet, said that he had no problems cutting $2,000 from the budget.

He said that since students are not as excited about the buffet, it would not be worth spending $5,000 dollars on.

When asked what the remaining $3,000 would be used for, Vadalia said, "It's the [Finance Board's] money," and the constitution will dictate what is to be done with it.

"We have a great theme in mind and different kinds of foods and different kinds of activities, so we're really expecting this to be great," said Non-Senate co-Chair of the Services Committee Hillary Mishan '09 who is involved in planning the Midnight Buffet.

The Senate considered getting entertainment like circus performers, according to Cook, but after the budget cut, the Senate won't be hiring any new entertainment.

Cook said she had no problem running a surplus in the Senate this year and just rolling the money over to next year.

She said she would like the money to "contribute to the future of the institution."

She explained that the midnight buffet is a one-night event;

Cook said that if there was a way to spend the money in a more lasting way Cook would be willing to spend the money.

Cook hopes that this budget cut will "help attract students with social justice and academic integrity," who will not look down at the school for cutting a Midnight Buffet budget in lieu of a financial crisis but instead "will have greater priorities than a free meal."

The cut to the event's budget should not have a significant effect on the execution of the Midnight Buffet, according to Mishan.

"We're going to have a great Midnight Buffet this year even with whatever money that we are spending," Mishan said.

Craig Elman '12 agreed with Cook, saying that "the event should be cut."

Other students like Virginia Partridge '12 said that if the Senate was going to have a Midnight Buffet, it should publicize it better.

In this way, said Patridge, students will be aware of events going on around campus and the money spent on events such as the Midnight Buffet will not count as a waste of the school's resources.

-Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting

Clarification: Kalynn Cook '11 told the Justice the Senate had considered getting circus performers to perform at Midnight Buffet. The Senate never considered hiring outside entertainment.

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