SAC Funded

Red tape bureaucracy leads many student groups funded by SAC to establish outside bank accounts. The two words "SAC funded" appear on almost every poster which graces the campus, usually in small print at the bottom or in a corner. But what exactly do these two words mean and what is the process used to determine who gets SAC funding? The Student Activities Council dispenses the money it receives from the Undergraduate Assembly to 143 recognized campus organizations. The grant allocations made by Council members, which total $291,055, range from Connaisance's $81,230 all the way down to nothing. But SAC committee members and various activity representatives have found problems inherent in the system of funding, ranging from the flood of paperwork to the limits SAC imposes on how much money activities can spend on certain items. And questions have arisen over the use and placement of revenue funds which many SAC funded organizations receive. SAC is made up of a Steering Committee, a Finance Committee and a representative body composed of members of its recognized groups. The Finance Committee makes up the center of the budgetary process. After each activity submits a proposed budget with its requests, the Finance Committee interviews each representative. The Committee then takes its recommendation to the Council as a whole which discusses and then approves a final budget. The process is tedious according to some SAC Finance Committee members, and unfair in the eyes of many representatives. "I know that people on SAC Finance were biased to certain groups and I'm sure that that has affected funding," said a performing arts group representative who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Once they get all the data, they make very random decisions." "There's very little sense of history and how groups have been funded in the past," said College senior Jim Walsh, the Penn Glee Club representative to SAC. The performing arts groups have had particular difficulty receiving funding from SAC. Last year, SAC stopped funding the seven a cappella groups because the Finance Committee did not want to "double charge" students. Students had been paying $5 for each show they attended. And a portion of their annual general fee also went toward the SAC funded activities. So, when those activities received funding, students were paying twice. The performing arts groups have expressed displeasure with SAC's decision. "We're [now] paying for University space and that money is going to the University and now they're making money off of us," said Performing Arts Council outgoing Financial Secretary Sean Aherne, a member of Counterparts. "They thought we were making too much, but that's not up to them. "I've been really fed up," he added. "They also don't come to a lot of our shows so they don't know what we're all about." Engineering junior In-yup Park, representative of the Academic Societies of Engineers, said SAC gives less priority to academically-oriented groups. "There has to be some way to fund academic activities also," he said. "[SAC] has to decide if money should be spent on social groups or academic groups." But College senior Jodi Bromberg, co-chairperson of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance, said she has not had any problems with SAC or its Finance Committee. "As long as you read through the material and ask questions, they'll be able to do an excellent job," she said. "They've been really helpful." Undergraduate Assembly Treasurer Ashley Magids, who sits on the SAC Finance Committee, said the committee is very "professional" in its decision making. "There's no personal opinions involved," she said. "I think it's a very fair process." Other SAC representatives said that while the council attempts to be fair, it does not succeed. "I think they really try to be just and equitable but they sometimes can't see things from the club's point of view," said Wharton junior and Punch Bowl Editor-in-Chief Samir Shah. "And there's definitely too much bureaucracy." This "bureaucracy" was also an issue which both SAC representatives and committee members discussed. "One of the things that's a problem is that it's so bureaucratic to get money out of the system," SAC Steering Committee Chairperson Grace Estaban said. "And I think the University itself just adds to the bureaucracy. Magids, a College sophomore, voiced similar sentiments. "I think the core of the problem is the way the University operates," she said. "There's a lot of red tape," said College sophomore Kim Siegal, former treasurer of Penn Dance. "Sometimes I have to fill out nine forms for one thing," Shah said. The bureaucracy and financial problems also stem from SAC's vast size. "There's an incredible number of new groups," Magids said. "A small SAC council may not be able to handle it if things continue in this direction." Despite problems some SAC members alluded to, many others say they feel strict policies are necessary. "There has to be a certain amount of red tape," admitted Aherne, a College senior. "Money is involved." "We can keep better track this way," said College junior David West, chairperson of the SAC Finance Committee. "You need to have the receipts even though some groups complain about that. "The rules need to exist," he added. Issues of fairness and bureaucracy both contribute to the attempts made by various activities to to control their money. In fact, some groups have admitted to keeping revenue in outside bank accounts. These actions are strictly against SAC policy. "All activities receiving funds from the Activities Council must maintain all funds and income within the University accounting system," SAC funding policies state. "Deviations from this system must be approved by the Activities Council." Several SAC representatives say they have opened bank accounts in Mellon Bank or elsewhere in the area, despite the clear prohibition of their actions. "We put alumni donations and revenue in outside bank accounts and we hide it," said a SAC representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I think [SAC] has good reasons for what they do, but I can rationalize what we do also." The representative added that many groups put money in off-campus bank accounts in order to purchase things SAC refuses to fund. "Probably most of the performing arts groups do," he said. "I would assume that most groups, falsely or otherwise, believe there exists an incentive to have off-campus bank accounts to hide money from SAC." But Aherne said he knew nothing about the existence of non-SAC accounts. "Hypothetically, if anyone did have an outside account, it would be a hell of a lot easier to get out the money," he added. College sophomore Chris Robbins, editor-in-chief of the Red and Blue, said his publication has an outside bank account because SAC has refused to fund it. "But if we took money from SAC, I'd still want to have my own account," he added. "When they don't allocate money for a certain reason, there's always a way to find a way around it." The performing arts representative of SAC said a majority of groups have outside accounts. "They do social-related functions," he said. "The money they need comes from dues or revenue, and I'm sure it goes into an outside account." Debate Council President Jonathan Cohn said the Debate Council had an outside bank account until last year. The former president, Eric Swanson, disposed of the account and put the $3000 which had been in it into the Debate Council's SAC account. "The supposed reason was that they needed readily accessible money," he said. "But although it's been tougher, we haven't had severe problems." Cohn, a Wharton senior, added that he did not know how long the account had been in existence. Bromberg said outside bank accounts are "a way of getting around it and not doing everything." She would not comment further, though, regarding the existence of off-campus accounts. SAC Steering and Finance Committee representatives said they know outside bank accounts exist, but they say they cannot do anything about the situation because they do not have enough evidence to take action. Though none of them knows exactly how many groups hold these extra accounts, almost everyone agrees they are a major problem. And no one has a solution. "I think that student groups have trouble accessing their money and that is why they get outside bank accounts," said Estaban, a College senior. "It's a really difficult problem because if we were to give them easy access, it would be a problem for us." Estaban added that allowing for outside bank accounts within SAC rules would hurt the Council's ability to control funds. Magids said SAC could not and should not keep an extremely watchful eye on every activity. "I think there's a point where it would be a far too activist role and too administrative on [the groups]," Magids said. "Occasionally a group will make a slip up and that's the only way we've been checking." Finance Committee members say it is nearly impossible to find the groups who break the SAC rule, accuse them and then punish them. "Diplomatically, you can't barge in and say 'you guys are doing this'," Estaban said. "And very few students would disclose the fact that they have an outside bank account." Financial Administrator for the Office of Student Life, Activities and Facilities Lynn Moller said she can make the assumption that one third of all SAC groups have outside bank accounts. "It's gotten worse over the past five years," she said. "[But] there's really nothing that can be done." "I know there are outside bank accounts," said Student Life Director Fran Walker. "But unless your bank statements are sent to the office, there's no way we would know because it's a privacy question." Outside bank accounts are only one of several problems which exist between SAC and its represented activities. When examining the activities' budgets, several discrepancies are apparent. First, the paperwork is often not filled out correctly or completely. Sometimes, entire forms are left blank. The total amount is filled out in every budget, but the breakdown is sometimes not shown. Such is the case for Intuitons, a campus alternative performing arts group. Groups also leave the breakdowns for use of revenue blank, as the Gospel Choir and Intuitons did in their most recent budgets. The second problem with many activities' budgets is in the area of revenue explanation. Often, the "total non-SAC revenue" did not equal the "total non-SAC revenue used" in the 1993-1994 budgets. In some cases, the totals balance by adding the suggested carry over money for 1994-1995 to the total used money. In several others, though, the numbers simply do not balance. More than 40 groups have total revenue used not equalling total revenue. These discrepancies remain unaccounted for, though Moller did say that the discrepancy may be due to the failure to indicate spring tournaments, shows or programs. "I don't know what accounts for the discrepancy," she said. "Sometimes they don't predict accurately, and sometimes it's just stupidity." Walker said some groups might not know how to properly prepare their budgets. But Moller said each group's representative is given a packet of instructions and policy information. In addition, each activity is given a Finance Committee liaison who is available to help answer questions. "Most of the groups don't go to their finance liaisons," she said. "There are groups that just don't have any interest in [the budgetary process] and there are others that have good business management." Despite the problems and lack of solutions in SAC's organization, procedures and financing methods, SAC Finance Committee members say they continuously attempt to properly and fairly allocate SAC money to the many activities which fall under its jurisdiction. The Committee is currently in the process of interviewing groups, reviewing budgets and deciding on recommendations. The final budgetary allocations will be made at the SAC general meeting on April 20.