The Student Government Association (SGA) is currently discussing plans to restructure the Student Activities Commission (SAC).
The restructuring will entail the SGA's taking complete control over SAC funding and the allocation of money to various student groups at Hopkins.
Until this decision, the SAC served as the SGA's funding board; they looked over funding proposals and allocated funds accordingly to campus groups such as clubs, publications and the Hopkins Organization for Programming (the HOP), which organizes student entertainment and social activities.
In an effort to increase oversight of the SAC's activities, as well as trim some of the red tape tied to the fund allocation process, the SGA has decided to absorb the SAC into the SGA's Finance Committee. The Finance Committee will take over all responsibilities from the SAC and make all subsequent group funding decisions. Other universities and colleges around the country have recently undergone similar restructuring processes, in an effort to give student governments more direct responsibility in funding.
Senior Prasanna Chandrasekhar, SGA president, believes that transferring authority from the SAC to the SGA will be "a way to distribute money more equitably to student groups. In fact, we are trying to save student groups some money in light of recent talk of budget cuts, and we want to have money for everyone who needs it."
The SAC board has traditionally been made up of representatives from various parts of student life on campus, with liaisons for performing arts, political action, publications, recreation, culture, religion and special interest.
"The SAC, as long as I have been with it, has done a fantastic job of funding student groups on the Hopkins campus, and the liaisons will continue to have a prominent role in the future of student group funding. However, as of this moment, their exact roles have not been finalized," SGA Executive Treasurer and SAC Chairman Mark Zamorski said.
According to junior class Senator Evan Lazerowitz, the restructure will give students more access in electing who they want to be in charge of their funds since SGA members will be those overseeing the allocations.
"SAC is elected by the student groups, so those [SAC] members typically want to 'bring home the bacon' to their own groups," Lazerowitz said.
Thus, the restructure may bring about fairer and more representative funding for groups on campus.
Though exact details of the restructure have not been fully planned out, student group categories are definitely being changed.
Zamorski believes that "this restructuring will help better classify student groups' primary functions and increase inter-group cooperation at events."
Among other changes in store, the SGA will be urging student groups to increase their fundraising so that they can have more money for their own events.
Campus organizations will also be greatly encouraged to submit annual budgets in order to motivate better financial organization.
The restructure will only affect groups funded by the SAC. "Most groups aren't going to experience a major change, the restructure will just increase oversight over discretionary spending. We are tightening the leash," Lazerowitz said.
