SOOF allocations for student groups decrease from 2013-2014 year

Some student leaders are questioning the efficacy of one of the primary undergraduate student government funds after hundreds of groups received allocations last week that were the lowest in recent years.

The average allocation per student group this fall from the Student Organizations Operational Fund decreased by about $140 from last year. The Undergraduate Students Association Council approved the allocations on Oct. 28.

Overall, SOOF lost $35,000 in the 2013-2014 academic year. The USAC budget review director and assistant budget review director decreased allocations this fall because of an increase in administrative costs, including increased building maintenance expenses, pension contributions, stipends and benefits.

Though leaders of some student organizations said they were disappointed by the reduced allocations, they think they will manage by relying on other funding pools.

Last year, the Muslim Students Association received $300 from SOOF and ended up not using its funding. Wali Kamal, a third-year applied mathematics student and president of the group, said he noticed the leftover funds and decided to only apply for the funding of T-shirts through SOOF this year and rely on other sources of funding at the university.

Despite its request, the group did not get any money from the fund.

“Because (SOOF) is such a limited source, we did not rely on it,” Kamal said.

Many student groups said they were frustrated by the complications with the SOOF application process.

Members of Colleges Against Cancer had to reach out to a staff member from the American Cancer Society to figure out the SOOF application because they thought the USAC guides provided weren’t helpful, said Sogol Ashrafian, a fourth-year human biology and society student and president of Colleges Against Cancer.

Justine Pascual, USAC budget review director, said 206 student organizations received money from SOOF this year, fewer than the 233 organizations that received money last fall.

Bruins for Israel used most of the SOOF allocations it received last year. Natalie Bakhshi, a third-year psychobiology student and last year’s director of finance for the group, said Bruins for Israel has also struggled to apply for and use money from SOOF because of complicated procedures surrounding the fund.

The organization has been able to use the Contingency Programming Fund and other USAC funding sources easily, but faced obstacles when relying on SOOF, Bakhshi added. The group received $163 less this fall than it did last year through SOOF.

“We’re disappointed,” said Eytan Davidovits, a fourth-year economics student and president of Bruins for Israel. “We invest in USAC and we hoped that some of it would get back to us.”

Some student organization leaders said they are moving away from depending on SOOF.

“We’re losing confidence in student funding pools because they are allocating money that is not sufficient for the programs we do,” said Jazz Kiang, director of the Asian Pacific Coalition and a third-year Asian American studies student.

The Asian Pacific Coalition used all of the money allocated through SOOF last year. This fall, the coalition received $277.89. Since the Asian Pacific Coalition is an umbrella organization made up of 24 student groups, Kiang said this lowered allocation will limit the coalition’s programming possibilities.

“That doesn’t even cover a retreat for our staff,” said Kiang.

He added that he thinks SOOF should provide the infrastructure for UCLA student organizations.

For Colleges Against Cancer, which received about $200 less than last year, group members plan to raise their dues to make up for the reduced allocation, said Laura Kaufman, a fourth-year economics student and event chair of Relay for Life.

“We can only use SOOF for certain things, and it’s meant to keep the club going,” Kaufman said. “But now it’s not substantial.”