A student budget advisory committee that will attempt to assist administrators regarding cuts in the budget that could affect students has been selected, but details of what the committee will discuss have yet to be released.Student Union President Jason Gray '10 announced in his state of the union address on Nov. 17 that "the University is heading the call to involve the community in the process [of deciding how to deal with the budget shortfall]."

He said Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French convened the committee of students that will advise them on decisions regarding the budget.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Director of Communications for the Student Union Jamie Ansorge '09 wrote, "The Union hopes that the administration will incorporate student opinion into this process at every juncture. We have requested that top administrators engage constructively with the student body through public forums or e-mails about the budget crises. The Union is pushing for students' voices to be heard and for the student body to be informed of decisions when they are made."

Gray told the Justice that a statement may be released that would address "the purpose and the Constitution and what we [the Budget Advisory Committee] are going to be discussing."

In an e-mail to the Justice Eddy wrote, "the University has been working to identify areas where budgets could be reduced and savings realized. Some of those areas may affect the day-to-day lives of students on this campus. It's important, and it is our practice to have student input as we consider our choices."

In his address Gray said, "This is a period of financial uncertainty, and the financial collapse on Wall Street has impacted us here on South Street. We have an endowment that is barely growing, more students are deciding to graduate early, and costs are rising. This has led to a $10 million budget shortfall for the University, and depending on the state of the economy, a similar situation in the year ahead."

In addition to Gray, the students on the Budget Advisory Committee are Jessica Blumberg '09, Daniel Acheampong '11, Emily Moignard '09, Bryan Wexler '09, Max Wallach '09 and Noam Shouster '11. Ansorge explained in his e-mail that the students on the committee are connected to many different aspects of campus life and "all have experience dealing with the University administration.".

Gray said he selected the students with consultation from the executive board of the Student Union.

Shouster wrote to the Justice in an e-mail, "I'm honored and thrilled to be a part of this, and I think as a senator at large I'm really aware [of] what the student body will prefer to do in this situation and I'm there to represent that and to verbalize the will of the students in front of the administration.