The University has not given the Student Activities Council the information it demanded. The deadline for University administrators to respond to the Student Activities Council's request for information on the allocation of funds from the General Fee passed last night with no new information given to the body. Although SAC now plans to go ahead in soliciting help from the federal government to procure information on the University budget, administrators said they aren't concerned about the possibility of such a probe. Two weeks ago, SAC gave the administrators an ultimatum: either supply a line-by-line breakdown of where the fee that students pay with their tuition goes, or SAC will pay the government to conduct a Freedom of Information Act search of the University budget. But Rodin said yesterday she couldn't recall the exact deadline SAC had set for a response, adding that she doesn't "feel threatened by the Freedom of Information Act." Under the act, every federal government department has an office that filters requests from the public for information about federal agencies. That office will release any public records it can procure, unless the information is forbidden by law or would compromise personnel privacy -- such as salaries. Although the University is not a federal agency, it appeals to the federal government for money to fund research grants and student financial aid, in the process revealing many of its financial records to the government. The Department of Health and Human Services is processing SAC's FOIA request, which should produce some budgetary figures later this month. The search will cost the group up to $500. SAC Chairperson Steve Schorr, a Wharton senior, first made a request for a breakdown of the General Fee two years ago while serving as Undergraduate Assembly treasurer. Less than $1 million of the $26.5 million of General Fee revenue goes to fund student groups such as the UA, Connaissance, the class boards and all SAC-funded groups -- leaving $25.5 million that students cannot account for. Two years ago, the administration responded with a very broad outline, claiming that a more specific budget was not available, Schorr said. But this time around, Rodin said the administration is trying to be more responsive to the request. "I can give assurance that we will provide more information," she said. University Budget Director Mike Masch is currently searching through the University's financial records for "the most detailed material possible" without violating any University policies, such as that which prohibits the release of employee salary figures. Masch said Rodin's office asked him "on the part of some of the student government leaders" for more detailed information on how income generated by the General Fee is "allocated budgetarily." "I'm not operating off of a deadline," he added. "I've been asked to prepare information that's accurate and informative, and I'll do that as quickly as I can." He noted that the task is "labor-intensive," because the information is not immediately available in a format that isolates the General Fee revenue. Once Masch compiles the material, the president's office will decide how much of the budgetary information to release. Schorr said that although he is pleased that the administration is finally responding to SAC's request, the move is long overdue.
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