Cost-cutting SAC eliminates overlapping organizations

With a budget too limited to support the influx of new groups falling under its umbrella, the Student Activities Council plans to carefully monitor new groups this year so that they do not overlap with the agendas of established organizations. "There are a lot of groups in SAC, and there isn't enough money to go around, so it's important for the spending to be as efficient as possible," SAC Chairperson Steve Schorr said. "Every time you have another group, there are a lot of overhead costs involved," the Wharton senior added. "So if you can combine two groups into one, that could save a lot of money." At SAC's annual allocations meeting last April, both Circle K and Global Village suffered from a SAC bylaw barring the council from funding groups that duplicate another's purpose. Although SAC continues to recognize the groups, it cut funding for Circle K -- saying the service organization was too similar to Kite and Key -- and for Global Village, which it said resembled the United Minorities Council. SAC cited Circle K's use of its funds for annual national conferences and for dues to the umbrella organization Kiwanis International as unnecessary expenses, since Kite and Key provides its members with similar service activities without resorting to outside sources. "SAC examined everything case by case, and the kind of activities that [Circle K and Kite and Key] have done over the last couple of years have been very similar -- both do tutoring, both have gone to Ralston House to help out and both do general community service activities," Schorr said. "They don't have different missions." But Circle K leaders cited a broader agenda than Kite and Key. "Our services extend beyond West Philadelphia and the Penn community to outside, bigger causes," said Circle K President Helen Cheung. Cheung, a College junior, said the group's recent projects include tutoring at the Free Library of Philadelphia and raising money to fight Iodine Deficiency Disorder. "We're similar in the sense that we're both community service groups, but in terms of structure we're very different," she said, explaining that Circle K is run by individual committees which give members the opportunity to train as committee chairs, while Kite and Key is led by a board. College junior Vishal Savani -- who founded Global Village in spring 1996 -- said his group is also unique from other University organizations. "We're trying to bring about unity and diversity of all people and backgrounds? people of different sexualities, different walks of life, while the UMC tries more to promote the advancement of minorities on campus," Savani said. Global Village organized the Creating Unity Forum last March -- where 100 students representing different cultures and organizations met for three days to discuss University issues. Because they lacked funding this year, the group had to cancel diversity workshops planned for freshmen. "At this point, we feel paralyzed because we lack the funding to bring the speakers and plan the events that we had wanted to put together," Savani said. He added that although the group is willing to work with the UMC on achieving their similar goals, it may appeal to SAC to regain monetary support. In the meantime, it plans to find other sources of funding through corporate sponsorships, private philanthropists or other local community organizations. Circle K also plans to appeal for money at the first SAC meeting later this month. Its leaders said the group is willing to compromise by asking SAC only to pay for program and administrative expenses. "It will be tougher because we'll have to fundraise for ourselves rather than fundraise for the causes that we're working for," Cheung said. Schorr added that in the future, while SAC will closely examine new groups, it is unlikely to cut funds from other existing groups. "I don't think there are any other groups as obvious as Global Village and Circle K," he said. "I don't think that's going to happen again."