This year, the process for student organizations to receive allocation money recieved a serious makeover.

Vice President of Finance, junior business management and international business major Nathan Trout was entrusted with the delicate task of combining SOAC and SAFC. The Vice President of Finance is in charge of handling allocations every year for student organizations. SOAC used to be in charge of handling smaller organizations like the Roller Hockey Club and English club and the SAFC was in charge of the “Big eight,” like University Center Board. Trout had the responsibility of combining the two organizations into one, the new SAFAC, or the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee.

Now, all student organizations go through the same committee to get allocation money.

Besides the new name, the process to receive allocation money is a bit different as well. Student organizations are given allocation packets to fill out and turn into the SAFAC committee. Then, organizations have to present their case as to why they need a specific amount of allocation money, which is then sent to and voted on by Student Senate.

In the combining of the two original committees, Trout had to create bi-laws and work closely with Dean Raphaella Prange and Molly Berry, as well as construct a completely new committee, which wasn’t easy for Trout. He said, “Listening to numbers all day isn’t attractive, so it was hard to get people interested in being on the committee.”

“We have a budget,” said Trout, “and we try to spread that out equally as it pertains to your organization. We try to make it as equal and fair as possible.”

The purpose for changing the committees was to create a more student-ran organization.

According to Student Senate President Jared Rixstine, “having the two organizations has caused a lot of confusion and made the funding timeline very difficult.” Before the new changes, the SAOC and SAFC had to go through consult each other and would take months before arriving at final decisions for student funding. Rixstine says the new SAFAC committee will be a lot more efficient than its predecessors.