Student groups and leaders call on SAC to have club input
In an open letter sent Friday afternoon to members of the Student Activities Commission, a number of student clubs and student leaders called on SAC to allow clubs to provide “constructive criticism” about the club funding guidelines.
The letter notes that student groups have not been afforded the opportunity to give input on the funding guidelines that affect their groups.
“If the SAC does not solicit club leadership feedback, the Funding Guidelines will continue to remain obstructive to event organization and program development,” the letter states.
Three of the candidates for the Georgetown University Student Association presidency—Mike Meaney (SFS ’12), Ace Factor (COL ’12), and Charlie Joyce (COL ’12)—signed on to the letter along with current GUSA President Calen Angert (MSB ’11).
Full text of the open letter to SAC after the jump.
We, the undersigned Georgetown University clubs and student leaders, urge the Student Activities Commission (SAC) to solicit and incorporate club feedback prior to amending the Funding Guidelines and presenting at the GUSA Budget Summit on our behalf.
The Funding Guidelines determine what types of events student clubs can hold, how much money we can receive, and the process by which we can obtain approvals and allocations. The Student Activities Commission has announced that the Funding Guidelines for Fall 2011 will be released February 20, and Programming Arcs, which bind us to a specific set of events for the entire fall semester, are due March 2. The GUSA Budget Summit, which will allocate the Student Activities Fee to the five advisory boards, including SAC, is February 27.
To date, SAC has offered no opportunity for club leaders to provide formal feedback on the current Funding Guidelines. The Student Activities Commission has also offered no formal opportunity for clubs to discuss the level and type of funding we need from the GUSA-delegated Student Activities Fee. We urge SAC not to assume what clubs need and want. In order to improve the Funding Guidelines to be more reflective of club programming, the process of determining club funding must be a two way process. Clubs must be consulted.
We expect a formal opportunity to offer constructive criticism of the current Funding Guidelines before they are amended for Fall 2011. We also expect a formal opportunity to raise questions and concerns prior to the GUSA Budget Summit so that SAC may represent club opinions more accurately.
If the SAC does not solicit club leadership feedback, the Funding Guidelines will continue to remain obstructive to event organization and program development. Moreover, if SAC does not solicit club leader input, it cannot claim to accurately represent or even understand club needs at the GUSA Budget Summit.
We hope for a dynamic two-way dialogue with SAC whereby SAC can advise clubs and clubs can voice their opinions and concerns. Together, both can improve the mechanisms for event approval and make campus life at Georgetown more vibrant.
International Relations Club
International Students Association
College Democrats
Philodemic Society
Muslim Students Association
Taiwanese American Student Association
Iranian Cultural Society
GU Art Aficionados
Students for Justice in Palestine
Jesse Mirtotznik, Co-President – Jewish Students Association
Calen Angert, GUSA President
Jason Kluger, GUSA Vice President
Greg Laverierre, Chair – GUSA Senate Finance and Appropriations
Committee and Vice Presidential Candidate
Michael Barclay, Chair – GUSA Senate Student Life Committee
Clara Gustafson, Chair – GUSA Senate Community Building and Outreach Committee
Mike Meaney, GUSA Deputy Chief of Staff and Presidential Candidate
Charlie Joyce, GUSA Executive Cabinet and Presidential Candidate
Paige Lovejoy, GUSA Vice Presidential Candidate
Ace Factor, GUSA Presidential Candidate
James Pickens, GUSA Vice Presidential Candidate
Ben Bold, Vice-Speaker – GUSA Senate
Shuo Yan Tan, International Student Representative – Diversity in Action Council
Scott Stirrett, Chair – DC Students Speak; former SAC Commissioner
Jeff Morshed, former SAC Commissioner
Will Kim, former SAC Commissioner
7 Comments on “Student groups and leaders call on SAC to have club input”
I went to the informational meeting for the new funding guidelines yesterday, where they said they may have a formal event for feedback. Even if they follow through on this (it would occur after spring break), let’s run through the time line.
Scheduling the informational meetings: Mid February
Voting on the new guidelines: Feb 19
First informational meeting: Feb 20
Releasing the guidelines: Next few days (my commissioner still hasn’t sent them)
When Sac gets their money: Feb 27
Programming arcs due: Mar 2
Potential feedback forum: Mid-late March
New executive boards for many clubs: April
Something just doesn’t add up.
More crap from SAC. How do they sleep at night?
Good of these groups and individuals to stand together and fight this ridiculous, anti-student entity.
Also, where is Feiman? Why didn’t he sign on to this letter?
Feiman refused to sign on to the letter…as entertaining as his videos are, his policies leave much to be desired
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