DSG to address growth in groups

Feedback on a proposal to increase the student activities fee has led Duke Student Government leaders to re-examine their process for funding student groups.

The DSG Executive Board submitted the proposal last week, suggesting to increase the student activities fee by $100 over two years.

After receiving student feedback, however, the DSG Senate voted Wednesday to reduce the proposed increase to $60 over two years-from $222 to $252 for the 2009-2010 academic year, and then to $282 for the 2010-2011 academic year. The student body will vote on the proposal in a referendum Monday.

The need for infusions of cash points to a sharp trend in demand. Since 2005, the number of student groups on campus has nearly doubled-from 61 to 102-and some administrators and student leaders have raised concerns about the current approval process for new groups.

"[The Student Organization Finance Committee] is doing everything it can to make sure that groups are using the money appropriately, to refine the new group process," said SOFC Chair Sam Halls, a junior.

Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said the increasing number of groups poses challenges for DSG and SOFC, adding that a major question is if the number of groups has expanded beyond what is reasonable for the size of the University.

"I think it requires some pretty deep diligence on the part of DSG to really review its protocol for adding groups, its management processes for tracking allocations and expenditures and for holding groups accountable for managing budgets," he said.

To tap into the annual $100,000 Programming Fund managed by SOFC, campus organizations must obtain either chartered or recognized status from the committee and demonstrate need for funding.

Sixty-eight percent of groups existing since last year or before have seen either an increase or no change in funding.

If the new proposal passes, DSG will see a $360,000 increase in funds-$150,000 of which will pay for an attorney to provide full-time legal services for students. A portion of the remaining $210,000 may be used to double the size of current Programming Fund, Giordano said.

During the past two weeks, DSG leaders have said additional funding will enable campus groups to organize higher quality programming.

But more money does not necessarily lead to better events, said Duke University Union President Chamindra Goonewardene, a senior. He added that stricter regulations are necessary to raise expectations on groups.

"Student groups will take any money that is given to them-that's how student groups operate. If they get more money than they actually need, then there's a problem with that," he said. "There are a lot of things this campus would like to have. There are a lot of things this campus needs as well. Balancing this need versus want argument is extremely important."

Although most groups have seen an increase in funding, some have had to work with a smaller budget. For example, Black Student Alliance has seen shrinking funding over the last four years, from almost $15,000 to less than $11,000 annually.

Allocations for new groups on campus this year vary widely-from $75 for Bridge Club, currently the smallest budget, to $9,000 for Rival Magazine.

BSA President Brandon Roane, a senior, said SOFC needs to establish a system to keep student groups accountable.

"There's no check on how SOFC is handing out the money and there's no check on what the student groups are doing with it or whether it's benefiting the student body," he said.

Brainstorming solutions

The challenges regarding funding allocation and student group growth are two issues that go hand-in-hand, Moneta said.

"We realize there are major problems," Giordano said. "It was really questions regarding SOFC that made us think about our funding structure overall and the different funds that are available."

He added that he plans to make the allocation process more transparent, while only granting amounts based on what groups really need-which would be decided after analyzing how the groups made use of their previous budgets.

Giordano said other changes to SOFC's procedures may include streamlining the funding request process-which currently takes two weeks-to just a few days and moving the annual budgeting process from Spring to Fall.

But Goonewardene said additional changes are necessary as well, including a stricter timeline for groups to submit event requests and more stringent evaluations of the activities they propose.

"What improves the quality of programming is planning," he said. "Events need to be more well-planned, more organized and have a positive impact on campus."

Additionally, DSG leaders said they would launch a new Web site to keep track of student group activity and ensure all serve separate purposes. SOFC will undertake an auditing process to make sure appropriated funds are used properly.

Moneta said SOFC could also consider clustering allocations to remedy funding abuse. For example, the committee might allot a certain amount to a performing arts council that would be responsible for distributing funds among performing arts groups.

Giordano, however, said student groups are not fiscally irresponsible, but said those that are will be called to account. He noted that changes to the SOFC structure have been in the works since his election last Spring.

SOFC needs to make procedural changes, Halls said, adding that he hopes to implement the improvements in the near future.

"It's a slow process, but I'm working with other student groups to come together and reach an approach with how to judge student groups," he said. "There are steps in place to make the process [to approve of groups] a little stricter and tougher. We're also going to make sure current groups are functioning."