Proposal for student activity fee allocation gets mixed reactions

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by Chet Kapoor

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A recently proposed student activity allocation fee will be voted on by the student body on Feb. 27.

The allocation proposal, which was drafted by several students, seeks to create a student activity allocation fee of $10.

Among the drafters are Sid Richardson College junior Krista Kyle, SRC junior Kathy Wang, SRC junior Erika Windham and Lovett College senior Thea Kachoris.

"We feel there is not enough money on campus for non-blanket-tax organizations," Wang said. "We feel a centralized pool of funds would make this process easier and reduce the bureacracy."

Kyle said a committee would be formed to oversee the new appropriations if the proposal passes. The goal of this committee would be to allocate these funds to any registered student organization for the improvement and expansion of campus-wide programs.

Currently, clubs and organizations have to seek funding from the eight colleges, the RPC and the SA.

One of the aims of the new committee, according to Kyle, is to simplify this system by having representatives from each of the appropriating bodies and from registered student organizations.

The Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs will also be providing about $25,000 in additional funding which will go towards campus-wide programming and club participation in national conferences and competitions. These funds will be disbursed whether or not the proposal passes.

Many campus administrators are in favor of the proposal.

"I really look forward to seeing this fee passed. It provides an opportunity for more students to get involved, to participate in a greater number of activities and to truly represent the diversity found at Rice," Director of Student Activities Sarah Nelson Crawford said.

Student Center Director Steve Sutton agreed.

"I'm in favor of [the proposal] because I've worked at institutions where they have similar systems," he said. He added that he would like to see some of the clubs focusing on their programs rather than on "how to get the money."

Sutton said some people were opposed to the proposal be- cause they think change is "threatening."

SRC junior Dan Grossman, an opponent of the proposal, feels that there is already "plenty of money" for campus-wide programs.

"If the money is not getting to the right organizations, the answer is not to collect more money," he said. "Making money available for clubs and organizations to expand is a wonderful idea, but the blanket tax is only for campus-wide programs. I feel proponents have done a poor job of explaining that to students."

This item appeared in the News section of the February 23, 1996 issue.

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