UA may shift focus of $30K 'Greek fund'

The Undergraduate Assembly's new budget plan calls for all student groups to have access to the discretionary fund. The Undergraduate Assembly proposed a plan last night which would no longer directly allocate funds from a UA discretionary fund to the InterFraternity Council. UA Chairperson and Wharton junior Bill Conway, Vice Chairperson and College sophomore Mike Bassik and Treasurer and Wharton sophomore Jonathan Glick devised and presented a proposal to 27 of the 33 UA members last night that would allow all student groups to apply for money from the UA's discretionary fund. The only difference between this year and last year, said Bassik, a Zeta Beta Tau brother, is that "it's just not going to be labeled as a specifically Greek fund" anymore. In a controversial move last year, the UA voted for the first time ever to create a $30,000 fund for use by the IFC. The plan drew criticism last year from those who called it unconstitutional to directly allocate funds to the Greeks. The fact that the money was taken indirectly from the coffers of the Student Activities Council sparked a referendum vote in last year's UA elections to override the UA's decision. The vote was thrown out, though, by the Nominations and Elections Committee because of charges that SAC distorted the possible effects of the proposal. The UA will vote on the new proposal at next Sunday's meeting when they vote on their budget. Next year's discretionary fund totals $32,500, an increase from last year. "We don't want to keep that same image of the UA as a resource only for the Greek community," said UA Greek Life Committee Chairperson and College sophomore Andrew Mandelbaum, an Alpha Chi Rho brother. "[The UA is] a resource that can be used by all students." And Conway, a Phi Kappa Psi brother, said, "The Greek fund has been a very controversial subject and we thought this was a plan that addressed the concerns of everyone." While last year's $30,000 discretionary fund gave the IFC primary access, Conway maintained that other groups could have applied for funding from that pool of money. He said the fund was perceived as serving only Greek-related budget requests, when in reality it could have served any group. However, if the new proposal passes at next Sunday's meeting, the IFC could still likely grab hold of a large portion of the discretionary fund. With the majority of UA members involved in Greek organizations, Greeks hold sizeable weight in the student government. UA members Conway, Bassik, Glick and Mandelbaum met with InterFraternity Council President and College junior Mark Metzl to discuss the proposed change to the discretionary fund. "I'm a little surprised and disappointed that there isn't a fund explicitly for Greek organizations," said Metzl, a Tau Epsilon Phi brother. "At the same time, I definitely want to express my belief that this is a far more democratic message. I am disappointed in the move but I believe it is more fair and equitable to all student groups." Metzl said that he would be surprised if the IFC did not continue to receive funding next year because he considers their programming "beneficial" to the entire University community. SAC members claim that the UA never informed them of this change. Still, the group gave the proposal negative feedback, saying that it is SAC's responsibility -- and not the UA's -- to delegate money to student groups. "This is SAC's responsibility and for the UA to assume some fiscal accountability for student group activities would be infringing on the purpose of the Student Activities Council," SAC Chairperson and College senior Katie Cooper said. Conway said he didn't mention the proposal to SAC because he didn't know if it was definite and he "didn't want to make a false promise." Most of the money from the discretionary fund has been used for IFC budget requests, including Greek Weekend, alcohol-education training, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, holiday decorations for fraternity and sorority houses and IFC co-sponsorship of the Loveline and Dating Game events. Metzl said that by the end of this week, when the IFC requests another $4,500 to fund the March 27 Greek Weekend, the entire $30,000 discretionary fund will have been used for Greek purposes.