Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

SAC Needs Nothing More Than a Diet

To the editor:

Patrick Musgrave, chair of SAC, recently wrote an article in which he proposed many steps to help get student groups more funding for their activities. The solution, however, is so much simpler than either he or anyone else seems to recognize. In one fell swoop, SAC could ensure they could allocate student groups all request funds in addition to having some to spare for New Club Development and other projects. The solution is to quit funding food.

It’s no secret that student groups over-request on food. Some allocations (which shall remain anonymous) include $130 (before scaling) for snacks to hand out at SA Fair; $125 (before scaling) for various workshops and speakers, none of which actually specify even a generic type of food that will be purchased; and $150 (before scaling) for cupcake-making materials.

It’s clear that groups over-request on food to ensure they have enough money for expenses. Why not just cut food funding to make sure groups don’t have to over-request? For example, the debate team has a $100 registration fee each year, and SAC always scales it to between $60 and $80. This leaves the team short since registration fees do not magically change. This means the team finds other places to scrimp and save in order to make up the shortfall.

In addition, people should be able to cover their own food costs. If you want to hand out snacks, have members chip in to cover that. If you want to have a speaker or conference, charge a nominal fee to pay for food.

The solution is right there; let’s stop crafting complex policy decisions to fix simple problems.

Alexander Zajac

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