For the first time, the Office of Residential Life's funding proposal was rejected this year by the Undergraduate Finance Committee.
In charge of distributing approximately $650,000 in student activity funds for campus-wide programming, the UFC reviewed proposals from eight campus organizations, and has decided to allocate funds to all but ORL for the upcoming year.
The committee felt that ORL's new organizational structure no longer fit with the UFC's goal of funding student-run, student-initiated programming, according to Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia.
"The [lack of] allocation to Residential Life should not be taken as a criticism of their programming but as a reflection of Residential Life's new organizational structure that includes community directors in a supervisory role," Sateia said.
As paid, full-time employees, community directors now oversee the programming and residential education in many dorm clusters.
While respecting such programming, the UFC wants to fund programming driven by students and not paid staff, Sateia said.
Although no money was allocated this year, the committee remains open to the possibility of funding ORL in the future.
"We'll watch how thing play out in the future," Sateia said, and if student-initiated programming in dorms becomes stronger, the committee might again provide ORL with funding.
Other allocations remained stable relative to previous years, with the $650,000 divided among seven large campus groups.
Receiving by far the largest amount, the Programming Board's $356,000 will be used by the organization to sponsor individuals organizing campus-wide events, Sateia said.
"They always get the biggest piece of the pie," UFC member Margaret Kuecker '01 added.
In other funding, the Council on Student Organizations received $180,000; Student Assembly, $35,000; Student Life, $25,000; Collis Governing Board, 22,000; Class Councils, $20,000, and the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council, $12,000.
"Most are pretty standard allocations," Kuecker said.
Decisions were reached after reviewing proposals and presentations by the eight organizations, Kuecker said.
And with proposal requests exceeding allocations by "hundreds of thousands of dollars," reaching decisions is often challenging, according to Kuecker.
"The students [on the committee] have a very difficult job," Sateia said, adding that she's "very proud of the work and effort they take."
Sateia said she plans to approve the committee's recommended allocations, which will take effect in July.
