Whereas, the Charter of the Student Assembly exists to help outline the rules and operations of the Assembly;
Whereas, Appendix A of the Charter of the Student Assembly outlines the guidelines that should be followed when handling matters of the student activity fee;
Whereas, Appendix B of the Charter of the Student Assembly outlines the guidelines that should be followed for organizations that are funded by the Student Assembly;
Whereas, the Student Assembly appoints liaisons to byline organizations to serve as representatives of the Assembly and to facilitate communication between these organizations and the Assembly;
Whereas, many current liaisons have reported being excluded from executive board meetings, communications, and organizational resources, hindering their effective representation.
Be it therefore resolved, all amending clauses in this resolution shall refer to the Charter of the Student Assembly;
Be it further resolved, that Appendix A, Section 4:Procedure, Article A: Application, Subsection 3 be struck and replaced with:
iii. Each applicant must bring 5 printed copies of all final application materials submitted to their scheduled hearing with the Finance Committee
Be it further resolved, that Appendix A, Section 4: Procedure, Article F: Appropriation
Process, Subsection 5 be struck and replaced with:
v. The Vice President for Finance must inform each applicant of the time and location of any meeting where the report is to be presented or reviewed and must advise each applicant to send two or more representatives who may answer questions of assembly members.
a. Representatives from these organizations may include, but are not limited to, club advisors, members of their Executive Board, or members of the Cornell community with institutional knowledge of the organization and its operations.
Be it further resolved, that Appendix A, Section 5: Specification, should be struck and replaced with:
A. Members of the Assembly or the Finance Committee must disclose to the Vice President for Finance any personal affiliations with applicants and must recuse themselves from any business related to such applicants to prevent conflicts of interest.
i. In the case that a member of the Finance Committee refuses to recuse themselves disclose a personal affiliation or any information that could be attributed a conflict of interest, repercussions shall be imposed on that member at the discretion of the Vice President for Finance in consultation with the executive board of the assembly and/or the Dean of Students.
ii. Repercussions may include but are not limited to:
a. Removal from the Finance Committee
b. An investigation by the Office of Ethics
c. Removal from the Assembly
B. Members of the Assembly and of the Finance Committee must sign a confidentiality statement and submit it to the Office of the Assemblies before they are seated in the fall semester of a fee-setting year.
Be it further resolved, Appendix A, Section 9: Conference with GPSA, should be struck and replaced with,
A. To ensure a disparity in funding levels between the GPSA and SA of an organization that is funded by both does not occur, the financial officers of each body will meet at the beginning of each fee setting year with the office of assemblies to discuss the financial status of the organizations they oversee.
B. In the case that a discrepancy occurs, financial officers of both bodies shall meet and consult the Office of Assemblies to discuss the discrepancy and recommend action to their respective bodies
Be it further resolved, in Appendix B, Section 2: Student Assembly’s Role and Obligations, Subsection F: Funding Clawbacks, the following should be inserted,
A. In the event that a Byline-funded organization enters a new academic year with a rollover balance exceeding either twice the amount of its most recent annual allocation or five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), whichever is less, any surplus funds in excess of that threshold shall be immediately transferred to the Student Assembly Reserve Accounts.
Be it further resolved, lines 689-694 be struck from Appendix B, Section 3: General Guidelines, Subsection C: Attendance Tracking, since Cornell no longer uses this method to quantify data;
Be it further resolved, Appendix B, Section 3: General Guidelines, Subsection E: Public
Promotion & Engagement, shall be struck and replaced with,
Each organization shall regularly advertise its existence and encourage student participation at its meetings, which shall be open to the public. Each byline-funded organization and its sub-organizations must include the SA logo or the following statement on all fliers, posters, promotions, programs, and literature related to public events: “Funded in part by the Student Assembly.” and clearly identify themselves as a "Student Assembly Byline Organization" on their website, social media accounts, CampusGroups page, and other public-facing platforms.'
i. In the case that an organization or any of its sub-organizations does not satisfy the above, they shall be fined 10% of the total cost of the event
ii. In the case that three violations that would warrant a fine are imposed on a Byline Funded Organization or its sub-organizations within a 5-year period, they will receive an automatic funding decrease for the following funding cycle, which shall be determined at the discretion of the Assembly
Be it further resolved, Appendix B, Section 3: General Guidelines, Subsection G: Prohibition on Compensation, shall be struck and replaced with:
No Advisor, President, Treasurer, staff member, other officer, or member of an organization may be compensated from an organization’s SAF account or SAF earned income account.
i. In the case that an organization is found to have compensated any of the listed parties from their SAF account or SAF earned income account, they shall receive a fine as well as an automatic decrease in funding for the following funding cycle, both amounts of which shall be determined by the Vice President of Finance.
a. However, the Vice President of Finance may not set an amount that puts the Byline Funded organization or its sub-organizations below the requirement to exist and receive funding from the SA
Be it further resolved, that Appendix B, Section 3, Subsection H be amended to read:
SA Liaisons: The SA shall have the option of appointing a Student Assembly member to serve as a non-voting liaison to each organization or, where appropriate, to its Executive Board to foster communication and partnership. If an organization feels their liaison is failing in their duty, a new liaison may be appointed. Save for voting rights, liaisons shall be treated equivalently to other executive board members:
- Byline organizations must invite their appointed liaison to all executive board meetings, providing reasonable notice of meeting times and locations.
- Byline organizations shall grant liaisons access to all executive board documents and files relevant to the organization's operations, budget, and events.
- Byline organizations shall include liaisons in all executive board communications, including emails and other correspondence related to the organization's operations.
- Byline organizations shall include liaisons on the executive board roster shown to the public, clearly identified as the 'Student Assembly Ex-Officio'.
- Failure to comply with the above by byline organizations constitutes a violation under Appendix B, Section 2E and triggers the following penalties, following the graduated schedule:
- First instance: Written warning and mandatory mediation
- Second instance: 10% reduction in next funding cycle (to be passed by two-thirds majority vote of the Student Assembly)
- Third instance: Referral to Finance Committee for byline status review
- Liaisons must attend at least two executive board meetings within the first six weeks of each semester to understand the organization's operations and needs and better represent their interests.
- Failure to comply with the above by liaisons triggers a written warning, and subsequent instances shall trigger referral to the SA Office of Ethics and potential loss of liaison assignments.
Be it further resolved, Appendix B, Section 3: General Guidelines, Subsection I: Off-Year
Reporting, shall be struck and replaced with:
During the fall of even-numbered calendar years, each organization shall provide the Finance Committee with a written account of the use of its fee allocation and operations for the previous academic year, and an optional oral summary of its activities (unless mandated otherwise by the Finance Committee), including usage statistics and future programming plans. The SA Vice President for Finance will conduct an unofficial vote regarding the committee’s recommendation on whether or not the organization should receive an increase in funding, a decrease in funding, or maintenance of funding at its current level. The SA Vice President for Finance shall then provide a written summary report of these meetings to the SA and all the Byline-funded organizations they have reported on.
Be it further resolved, Appendix B, Section 3: General Guidelines, Subsection M: Spending
Limitations, shall be struck and replaced with:
All conferences, teambuilding, banquet, training, and other social expenditures for organization members, in sum, shall be no greater than $4,000 or 10% of the organization’s by-line allocation, whichever is less. This rule shall not apply to SAFC-funded organizations. Funds from an organization’s byline allocation cannot be used to purchase food for executive board meetings.
i. In the event that a non-SAFC funded organization spends more than the listed amount for conferences, teambuilding, banquets, training, other social expenditures for organization members, or food for the executive board meetings, a fine shall be imposed by the Vice President for Finance in consultation with the Executive Board.
Be it further resolved, Appendix B, Section 3: General Guidelines, Subsection O:
Non-discrimination, shall be struck and replaced with:
All organizations receiving Student Activity Fee funds directly or that receive such funds indirectly from a by-line funded organization shall not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived age, race, religion, creed color, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, any other factors that are grounds for unlawful discrimination according to the New York State Constitution, or any combination of these factors when determining its membership and when determining the equal rights of all general members and executive board members, respectively, which shall include, but are not limited to, voting for, seeking, and holding positions within the organization. Additionally, all organizations receiving funding from the Student Activity Fee and that serve as a funding source for other organizations on campus shall not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived age, race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military violence victim status, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, any other factors that are grounds for unlawful discrimination according to the New York State Constitution, or any combination of these factors when awarding funding.
Be it further resolved, the following be inserted as Appendix B, Section 3, Subsection Q of the Student Assembly Charter:
Q. Reporting and Enforcement:
- If a byline organization fails to comply with any of these requirements, the organization's liaison may, together with two additional members of the Assembly, or five members of the Assembly without the liaison, submit a formal complaint to the SA Vice President for Finance, who shall acknowledge the receipt of the complaint within two business days.
- The SA Vice President for Finance shall investigate the complaint and report findings to the SA within two regularly scheduled meetings.
- If the SA determines that a violation has occurred, it shall impose penalties according to the following schedule:
- First violation within a two-year period: Written warning and mandatory meeting between the organization's leadership, liaison, and SA Vice President for Finance.
- Second violation within a two-year period: Reallocation of 5% of the organization's annual byline allocation, to be placed in the SA Special Projects Fund (passed by two-thirds vote of the Student Assembly).
- Third violation within a two-year period: Reallocation of 10% of the organization's annual byline allocation and mandatory appearance before the Appropriations Committee to address ongoing challenges (passed by two-thirds vote of the Student Assembly).
- Fourth or subsequent violation within a two-year period: Reduction or retraction of the organization's byline allocation for the remainder of the funding cycle and potential disqualification from the next byline funding cycle (passed by two-thirds vote of the Student Assembly), as well as re-evaluation of future funding plans by the SA Finance Committee."
Be it further resolved, Appendix B, Section 4: Organization Specific Guidelines, Subsection A: Departments, Article XI shall be struck and replaced with:
xi. Student Club Insurance
a.The Club Insurance allocation shall be managed and overseen by the Cornell University Risk Management Department in conjunction with Campus Activities.
b.No member of the Assembly shall be allowed to propose a resolution suggesting that club insurance be eradicated unless permission is granted by the President of the University or the Board of Trustees.
Be it further resolved, Appendix B, Section 4: Organization Specific Guidelines, Subsection A: Departments, Article IX shall be struck and replaced with:
ix. Outdoor Odyssey
a.The Outdoor Odyssey allocation shall be managed and overseen by Cornell Outdoor Education.
b.Outdoor Odyssey shall maintain their need-based financial aid program for students who apply for pre-orientation trips and shall dedicate no less than $20.00 of their allocated funds per year toward this program.
Be it finally resolved, all mentions and references to the Appropriations Committee be changed to the Finance Committee upon the conditional approval of Resolution 42.
Respectfully Submitted,
Niles Hite ‘26
Vice President for Finance of the Student Assembly
Zora deRham ‘27
President of the Student Assembly
Christian Tarala ‘26
Nolan School Representative, Student Assembly
