SA R62 (2025-2026): Health Vending Machine Expansion to West & Collegetown Communities
Returned by the President
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- Resolution:
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Day:
April 23, 2026
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Action:
Returned by the President
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Summary / Notes:
- File Attachments:
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Text Attachment:
Dear Zora,
Thank you for conveying Resolution 62: Health Vending Machine Expansion to West & Collegetown Communities. While I appreciate the Assembly’s desire to increase access to health care supplies, I am returning this resolution to the Student Assembly with the suggestion that the Assembly reach out to the Cornell Store to investigate the potential for a partnership in this project. The Cornell Store already manages a vending machine of the kind envisioned in this proposal, in Mann Library.
The vending machine proposal as outlined in the resolution is not viable, for a number of reasons. The amount the Assembly proposes to contribute falls well short of the cost of purchasing, stocking, and maintaining a secure vending machine, which ranges from $10,000 to $20,000. The Assembly cannot sign contracts with vendors on behalf of the university; a project of this scope requires university oversight. Additionally, the proposed plan to fill the machine once a semester would mean an empty machine for most of the semester: as I noted in my response to a related resolution last year, Cornell Health restocks the vending machine in their lobby three times a day, six times a week using pharmacy inventory.
I encourage the Student Health Advisory Committee to initiate a conversation with the Cornell Store to investigate a sustainable path toward the goals outlined in the resolution.
Sincerely,
Michael Kotlikoff
Michael Kotlikoff, V.M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D. (h.c.)
President and Professor of Molecular Physiology
Cornell University