SGA Scandal... Simply a Rumor

by Amrita Richards

At the beginning of the Spring 2004 semester, a rumor circulated that a sum of $60,000 was inexplicably misdesignated by the Allocation Committee, a subdivision of the Student Government Association. Where did this money go? It turns out that $60,000 were not missing to begin with.

"The funds were actually all the money that clubs did not use last semester," Dawn Sagan, president of SGA, tells the Delphian.

Every semester, the clubs on campus send in requests to the Allocation Committee for funds. Normally, the requests total $550,000, while the Allocation Committee only has $200,000 to distribute. Despite the discrepancy between the amount needed and the amount given, many clubs ended up having excess last semester, totaling $60,000.

"We put $30,000 of the leftover money towards covering the new requests for funds this semester," said Sagan. "The other $30,000 was put into the contingency budget, which gets five percent of the funds every semester. This fund covers late bills sent to the Allocation Committee, as well as any overages that clubs create throughout the semester."

Based on a need to reallocate funds coupled with late budgets that have to be reviewed, many think the delay in determining club budgets is understandable. Sagan promises that the clubs will be receiving their funds soon.

In response to rumors of possible misallocation, Sagan stated that between Will Thomason, the bookkeeper for SGA, and Lawrence Mannolini, the Director of Student Leadership Activities, it is impossible for funds to disappear.