On Sunday, Student Council met to discuss the College’s financial aid budget and campus responses to Senate Bill 104. The Council also approved a new organization, the Kenyon AI and Technology Club (KAIT).
Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrew Pilat ’25 opened the meeting by reflecting on the end of the two-week AI Week program, which he reported was very successful. Vice President for Student Life Drew Sutherland ’25 then reminded students that the application to create a new student organization will be closing on Friday at 4 p.m. He also told students to be on the lookout for the Student Council application form, which has since been released and will remain open until March 23. According to a statement on behalf of Campus Senate co-Chair Cooper Bertschi ’26, elections for student senators will now be integrated into the general Student Council elections.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Hannah Sussman ’25 reported that Campus Accountability and Modernization to Protect University Students (CAMPUS) will host multiple meetings to discuss responses to SB 104 in the upcoming week. Student Council President Marissa Sun ’25 also commented on SB 104. “While Student Council cannot change any legislative decisions, we want to remind students that we are here to listen and advocate as much as we can within our power,” she said. “I, as well as other members of Student Council, will be happy to meet and be a listening ear.”
Safety and Wellness Committee Chair Maddie Vandeberg ’25 announced the addition of new parking signs as part of a pilot program (see page 1). She also stated that Health Services will be available during the second week of spring break to provide care for students remaining on campus.
Following officer reports, Vice President for Finance Todd Burson joined the meeting virtually to discuss Kenyon’s budget, specifically in regards to financial aid. He explained that of the College’s current $200 million budget, around 38% was spent on personnel, 33% was spent on financial aid and 29% went to all other expenses during the 2024-25 academic year. Burson added that approximately 85% of the financial aid budget comes from tuition, while only 14% comes from the endowment. Burson told Student Council that one of the College’s goals for the future is to solicit more donations in order to become less reliant on tuition dollars.
After Burson finished his presentation, Student Council members asked questions about the budget. Sussman asked if Kenyon has any plans to transition from being need-aware to being need-blind. Burson said that making this switch is one of the College’s long-term goals, but that doing so would require another $2 billion to be added to the endowment. Sun asked if there was any discussion of money from the budget being used to purchase a new soft-serve machine for Peirce Dining Hall. Burson responded that doing so was not at the top of the priority list, but that it was on the list.
The next portion of the meeting was spent discussing KAIT with the fledgling organization’s President Will Gardner ’25 and Vice President Wisdom Akanwe ’27. Gardner and Akanwe explained that the organization aims to introduce students to AI tools, help them develop professional AI-related skills to aid in entering the workforce and host various speakers and events.
Several Student Council members asked questions about whether KAIT’s constitution included any statements condemning AI usage that violates Kenyon’s academic integrity policy, which led to a discussion about whether making such statements is within the jurisdiction of any student organization. Gardner and Akanwe agreed to amend their constitution to clarify that club members should abide by the policies set by individual professors. Student Council also raised concerns about KAIT’s current plan to operate without requesting any funding from the Business and Finance Committee. Gardner assured them that the organization has plans for several events this semester that do not require financial support, but that they will likely reevaluate and submit a request for funding in the fall. After 15 minutes of deliberation, the Council voted to approve the organization.