This draft of the budget for the 2005/2006 Union activity fee is a reflection of a return to our purpose as a Union, with an emphasis on contribution of each program to the sense of community on campus. The undergraduate activity fee is proposed to increase 1.2 percent to $460 a year and the graduate activity fee is proposed to increase 2.1 percent to $244 a year. Over the past four years, the activity fee has increased on an average of five percent per year, and if one looks at the 10 year history of the activity fee, they would find that it has increased on average about eight percent the five years previous to that. This could lead one to the opinion that the Union may have costs that are not under strict control, and that the need-based budgeting approach taken by the E-Board may not be as effective a process for the budget. I would disagree and came into the year with a firm belief that need based budgeting was the only realistic way to budget for over one hundred clubs, each with their individual programs and goals. Experience on the board has proven to me that no formula or simple guideline can be applied to every club, and that the only way to budget responsibly and effectively is to compare every club against the same rubric, the Union mission. This singular direction ensures that each club has a common bond to unite us, the common bond that we call the Rensselaer Student Union. I believe this approach proved to be successful. The proposed increase for this year is the lowest in the 10 year history that I have available. It makes a statement of accountability from a financial standpoint while keeping within the realms of need based budgeting for student activities.