What do events like Battle of the Late Night Foods, White House Ball, Asia Night and and Africa Initiative Concert all have in common? Aside from the fact that each is a student organization sponsored late night event at Cornell, these events all received at least part of their funding from the student-run CUTonight Funding Commission.

“We basically try to provide a diverse array of nighttime opportunities for undergraduate students,” said former CUTonight Chair of Operations Claudia Castelino ’09.

By funding a wide range of events, added current CUTonight Chair of Operations Linda Choi ’10, “What [CUTonight] is trying to do is to promote cultural awareness and to promote the student diversity at Cornell.”

During the application process, Choi said, CUTonight selects events that are likely to attract a broad spectrum of students. For an event to be approved, she added, “It has to be something appealing, something that hasn’t been done and ... something that will appeal to a majority of people.”

There are four application deadlines per academic year, coinciding with four funding cycles at Cornell. The number of groups applying for funding fluctuates throughout the year, with more applicants in the spring, according to Choi. The next application deadline is Tuesday, February 17.

Although CUTonight aims to grant all funding requests in full, which differentiates them from other funding groups, the amount of funding allowed for an event is contingent on how late it is scheduled to run. Thus, as Castelino explained, “If the event ends before 1 a.m. they’re allowed up to $3,000 and if it ends after 1 a.m. they’re allowed up to $5,000.”

The total funding CUTonight is able to allocate during each funding cycle is usually between $20,000 and $25,000 according to Choi. Castelino explained the source of CUTonight’s funding, saying, “We get our funding from the S.A. Right now … it’s nine dollars per undergraduate student. Every two years we have to present in front of the S.A. for funding negotiations.”

Although CUTonight has a website and runs newspaper ads, Castelino said that most groups learn about CUTonight’s funding opportunities by word-of-mouth.

“Since 2002 [CUTonight has] been pretty well established so it’s not so much about marketing and trying to get our name out there — it’s more about letting people know when the application deadlines actually are.”

The CUTonight Funding Commission, as Castelino explained, is comprised of 20 undergraduate students, six of whom are board members.

“All our commissioners are from different schools,” Castelino said. “We don’t have a certain major or course of study we look for. We try to make our board as diverse as possible.”

Both Castelino and Choi said they enjoyed their experiences in CUTonight. Choi said, “I like the fact that we’re playing a role in the types of events that are being offered to students.”

“I think one of the best things about CUTonight is that you get exposed to the different student groups on campus and the different ideas they have,” Catellano said. “You get to help them create the events and see them make their ideas into reality.”