The Triangle

Issue date: 5/23/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Brittany Rioux The SAFAC Annual Allocations Awards List (pictured above) announced funding allocations for student organizations ranging from $300,000 to $112. The allocation process is under scrutiny from members of campus student organizations.

The Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee recently released funding allocations to Drexel's undergraduate student organizations, ranging from $300,000 to $112, leading some students to question the wide distribution of funds and SAFAC's allocation process.

David Curlett, a senior majoring in business administration and chairperson of SAFAC, explained that the funds for each club depend on the club's application, which lists the club's needs and documentation supporting the requests.

"We follow the guidelines and precedents set up from previous years; the main thing is the documentation that [a student organization] gives. We look at whether what they are asking for fits [the organization's] mission and whether the money request is supported by documentation other than the club's own balance sheets," Curlett said.

The SAFAC application is further broken down into four categories consisting of operational, capital, activity and conference costs. Items necessary to the functioning of the group are considered operational, while capital items are long-term and can only be requested every three years. Activities include events the club hosts or participates in, both on- and off-campus. The conference category is reserved for special events that group members may go to in order to enhance the club's efforts.

"SAFAC determines whether the requests in each category are valid and relevant to the group and decides whether or not to fund the group on an item-to-item basis," Curlett said.

Consequently, a group that lists and supports more items necessary to the functionality of the organization will receive greater funds. For example, the Drexel Equestrians received $32,564 in order to offset costs that cover practice time and coaching staff at a local equestrian club, according to Julia Cutler, a junior in chemical engineering and the Equestrians' treasurer. However, the members are still expected to contribute monetarily, especially for individual costs like attire, which is vital in the equestrian competitions, Cutler said.

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