UPAC creates increased programming options for University Park students

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 1997	UPAC creates increased programming options for University Park students By PATRICIA K. COLE Collegian Staff Writer A foreign language professor wants to hold a banquet off campus for students thinking about majoring in a foreign language. He would like to feature ethnic foods and several speakers.
`Collegian Graphic: Helping Out`	Two years ago, he would have had to appeal to his department or other similar venues for funding. The Student Organization Budget Committee would not have been an option. SOBC did not offer funds for food. It did not offer funds for off-campus events. And it only offered funds to registered student organizations.
`Collegian story: Committee controls campus activity fees`	But SOBC will be restructured to become the University Park Allocation Committee starting next fall, and UPAC will be able to provide funds for all of the above and more. "(The Student Activity Fee Implementation Committee) left it very broad for us," said SOBC Chair Kim Schafer. "We've been working with no guidelines. With this being so new, maybe it's the time to step back and make temporary guidelines." The program and budget requests must enhance the out-of-class experience, improve the educational climate and enhance student life according to the restrictions the committee put on the allocation of the student activity fee.
`Collegian story: Budget committee undergoes complete restructuring`	"We didn't believe it was our place to say 'you can spend X amount of money on that,' " said Director of Student Life Stan Latta, who was on the implementation committee. "We said what if a student living in Pinchot Hall has a great idea. If the idea has met the criteria and enhances the out-of-class experience why shouldn't they be able to get funding?" he added. UPAC can review funding requests from any person, group or department. "And now when students are creative and have new ideas, they can submit them," said William Asbury, vice president for student affairs. While they encourage new ideas, SOBC wrestled with the decision to change from strict guidelines and limited funds to virtually no guidelines and double the amount of funds. "When we started, we had strict guidelines. When we got the student activity fee money, the committee gave us this plan that says 'anything goes,' " Schafer said. "I worked with the guidelines for three years and now all of the sudden we threw them out the window," she added. The two transition years are important because SOBC/UPAC will be setting a precedent for what it will and will not fund in future years, Schafer said. One area that SOBC has begun to establish tentative guidelines for is the funding of food. "Never in the past have we allocated for food and now we can," Schafer said. "Every group and every department wants to have an end-of-the-year banquet." This year SOBC has only offered funding for food that is a vital part of the program, such as ethnic foods in cultural programs. Although SOBC/UPAC now has the ability to fund more programs, Latta said he would like to see student groups increase the quality of the programs, instead of the quantity. Groups with similar purposes should make an effort to combine activities to improve both the turnout at the events and the caliber of programming, Latta added. "Sometimes it is frustrating to see the duplication of efforts," Latta said. "Rather than having three separate functions for twenty students, let's have one activity for 100 students . . . More doesn't mean better." UPAC is not completely without guidance. Some of the rules from the Student Organization Policies and Rules still apply to UPAC. For instance, it still cannot fund lobbying or alcohol-related events.