SAC to work more closely with groups
In response to complaints from student group leaders, the Student Activities Commission (SAC) is working to make itself more accessible by holding meetings more frequently and working to open lines of communication.
The SAC regulates the distribution of funds for almost every student group on campus. It has continually received criticism from the student body about its methods of allocating funds and balancing the importance of each club's budget.
In response to similar complaints, approximately 20 years ago the SAC employed a liaison to serve different categories of student activities, such as performing arts and publications. Yet, complaints have persisted in regards to the SAC's policies.
Joe Micali, business manager for the Barnstormers, said, "Our liaison is not very active. The system itself is bureaucratic and nothing gets done. When our group was audited, we asked for help and no one assisted us. ... The meetings they set up are unhelpful because they just give us a list of information and send us on our way."
The Barnstormers are not the only group that has been audited this year. According to Political Action Liaison Kaitlin Lee, the SAC has recalled over $60,000 worth of unused funds from campus organizations, which, as Lee points out, is a positive reflection on the SAC.
The fact that the SAC sufficiently funded the groups -- and in actuality overfunded them -- should deter allegations of stringent funding from the SAC.
Lee said, "All of our liaisons fight for their groups' budgets. We have two purposes as liaisons. First, we advocate for the group in front of the SAC board. Second, we edit the budget according to the funding policy. ... Each liaison wants to see their group have the most funding possible."
The SAC Chair and Student Council Treasurer Alice Li said, "Our liaisons love their groups and work solely for their benefit. The SAC wants to help student groups, otherwise they wouldn't spent so much of their time on Mondays and Thursdays arguing over budgets. Each liaison is extremely dedicated and spends an enormous amount of time campaigning their groups' best interest."
Budgets are often hotly contested. Micali explained, "Our budget is not unnecessary, but they rejected the budget. When we resubmitted it, they accepted everything except the cost of paint. It was as if they were declining us that one aspect of the budget just to prove they could decline."
According to Religious Liaison Tursina Rashid several groups are working on a larger scale than the SAC can support. She said, "Most groups ... have flourished throughout the years and of course their funding needs get higher and higher. But along with this, they still depend on the SAC to get a huge portion of their funding. The SAC would love to give as much money as we can to all the groups, but our budget is pretty much the same every year."
While some student leaders complain, other groups on campus are more aware of the overwhelming concerns of the SAC.. Ashley Watson, president of Witness Theater said, "Student group officers are the ones that need to step up and provide for their members. It can be frustrating to deal with forms and funding restrictions, but it's really not that hard."
Watson said, "The fact alone that liaisons are holding more frequent meetings just to listen shows that they do care to listen and help the student leaders. Our performing arts liaison, Jamie Spangler, has always responded quickly and adequately to every question we have had about the SAC."
Regarding the budgeting concerns faced by both student groups and the SAC, Lee said, "We are responsible for funding over 300 groups on campus. The University allocates us funds based on the amount of registered groups we have on campus. We have a problem with groups not registering and then asking for funding."
Lee added, "I don't think most people realize that when we deny budgets or parts of budgets that there are regulations that are out of our control. The Office of Student Involvement takes numerous liability concerns into question. For example, there are cases of travel liability that the OSI controls, not the SAC."
However, she noted that sometimes the groups themselves are at fault: "Often, student groups don't use their liaisons enough."