Organizations Vie for Funding from Student-Run SFC
BY BILL LASCHER

Part two of a two-part series

Cha-ching! Members of every chartered student organization are hoping to hear this rather than the sound of their hands searching their pockets for loose change. As organizations begin to vie for funds from the Student Finance Committee for the 2001-2002 academic year, which will be allocated between the April 16 and 18, a variety of questions are being raised about the fairness of the funding process.
One of the biggest problems with the SFC, its detractors allege, is that it does not really understand the needs of many student organizations. They argue that what the SFC claims as unnecessary expense is in fact a central aspect of the group’s operation. For example, the Sexual Information Center — an organization that provides at-cost education, safer-sex supplies, and other sexuality related services — puts customers’ purchases in brown paper bags to protect their confidentiality. According to junior Laura Zielinski, the SIC’s treasurer, this is an essential service that the center promises its clients. Nevertheless, the committee did not allocate money for these bags when it reviewed the group’s budget last year, and the SIC had to rearrange their budget at the beginning of the year in order to afford them.
Every budget written by an organization must state the group’s goals, purpose and any changes to its charter, but they are not defining factors in the SFC’s decision making, said SFC treasurer Bryan Engelhardt. As treasurer, Engelhardt is paid to manage the student body’s finances, act as a liason to administration officials and serve as a non-voting member of the committee. “We do try to follow the line of the charter, but it is not necessarily what we do,” he said. “That isn’t the number one thing that we budget on.”
The SFC’s policy on the matter is elaborated in the treasurer’s handbook published on its web site. A theoretical case is made in the policy pages of the Ultimate Frisbee team being denied funding for hosting a musical group on campus, because “Musical entertainment is not in the scope of Ultimate’s charter.”
Although it may make decisions based on the group’s importance to the campus community, its members claimed in a joint statement, issued Feb. 12, that distinctions are not made based on a group’s social importance. “These distinctions would be value judgements,” the statement said. “And we make a concerted effort to be impartial to all student organizations regardless of their mission and function.”
“How are they not value judgments?” junior Elisabeth Kidder said. Kidder is the president of Oberlin Stray Rescue. As reported in last week’s issue of the Review, OSR faced difficulties trying to raise funds for veterinary care of stray animals. The major problem they faced is a conflict over whether veterinary care directly benefits students, or just the animals.
OSR’s treasurer, learning assistance intern Nicole Palmer, added that even if it wasn’t socially conscious, students enjoy being a part of the OSR. She explained that it was no different than a film organization getting money for films to show to students. “Cats and dogs are giving students just as much pleasure, so why should it be any different?” she said.
Coincidentally, one organization that has faced a slew of problems this year is the Independent Film Society. The IFS received $8,919.86 for the 2000-2001 academic year. However, they have yet to screen one film. According to senior Amy Cimini, this is due to a number of factors. When this year began, the group had difficulties recruiting new members, and only two members remained.
“I don’t think the interest lies on this campus,” Cimini said. “Oberlin has become more mainstream.” 
Compounding the matter was the fact that IFS was unable to order films to show over the summer. Because of financial difficulties from a few years ago, the organization is in debt to a number of large film distributors. Consequently, the only way they could show anything would be to present money up front. Originally, Cimini said, they had planned to sign releases for funds at the end of last year. However, the SFC changed its requirements for these slips at the last minute, and the IFS was unable to request any money until the first two weeks of this year.
Meanwhile, in discussing her involvement as co-chair of Concert Board, Cimini alluded to a sense that organizations are competing with each other for funds, which strikes at the core of whether or not the SFC gives preference to certain organizations. Although Concert Board received a budget of $15,000 this year, this is a far cry from the $42,000 in its 1994 budget. This prevents them from inviting certain groups to campus, such as the Roots or Wilco, which can cost $20,000 dollars or more to bring to Oberlin. Cimini attributed this to what she perceived as an overabundance of organizations on campus, each drawing more and more funds from the finite pool.
“If there are indeed four socialist organizations on campus with a combined budget of $30,000, I think that’s bullshit,” she said. “There are too many organizations on campus.”
A number of new organizations surfaced this year. Among those with the highest budgets, according to the SFC’s posted figures, were the Grape, with $19657.82, queers and allies of faith with $2608.55, and the Oberlin Swing Society, with $1989.34. 
According to Engelhardt, one of the reasons some may be suspicious of the SFC its powerful influence on campus. “I must note that the SFC as an organization is dangerous,” he said. “Yet in it being dangerous it has an incredibly admirable quality; that is, it is run completely by students. I am not sure of the exact number of colleges, but in my understanding we are an exception to a rule that the administration allocates funding.”

Because the committee is completely student run and this is a small campus, SFC members can and have also been members or officers of chartered student organizations. Some resign their positions when they become SFC members, as Senior Rachel Garland did when she gave up her post as president of the Oberlin Zionists to serve on the committee. However, nothing in the SFC’s by laws require this. According to senior Erika Hansen, who served on SFC until the end of last semester, the only people not permitted to serve as voting members of the SFC are treasurers of Student organizations. 
“The primary rationale as to why treasurers have been singled out as those organization members who are not permitted to be members of SFC is because those students are ultimately responsible for an organization’s finances,” Hansen said. On the other hand, she explained, it would be unfair if other officers were not allowed to sit on the committee because the Organizational Coordinator of the Senate is obligated to do so (Hansen was the Organizational Coordinator until resigning from senate. That position and her seat on SFC is now being held by sophomore John Byrne.)
However, some students have made it clear that they believe this situation could lead to a bias on the committee. “Student fund allocations is a hard job,” said sophomore Monica Schneider, editor-in-chief of the Skinny. “But I will say I hear a lot of rumors. Maybe some of those could be squelched if no one on SFC headed up or played major roles in organizations asking for funds. It does create a serious chance for bias.”
Officially, the SFC attempts to keep anyone who may have a conflict of interests, not just treasurers, from voting on their own organization. “It is protocol for those SFC members with a conflict of interest not to vote on their organization’s request for funding,” the SFC said.
“Obviously there are people on SFC who are directly involved in student organizations,” Engelhardt said. Despite this involvement, however, no member of the committee has acknowledged any bias. “No one has declined to vote or remove themselves from the room because of a conflict of interest,” he said.

In her two and a half years on SFC, Hansen hasn’t experienced a plurality of committee members from any one organization. “I think that diversity and good judgement of SFC is enhanced greatly by the fact that students who are deeply committed to a variety of causes are included upon the committee, because this diversity offers a balance of priorities,” she said.
“It’s unfair to think that a student is going to drop all their commitments,” said sophomore Adam Seidel, an SFC member and managing editor of the Grape. “I think all students are capable of separating what’s good for them and what’s good for the students at large.”