Over the past few years, we have seen a tremendous growth in the quantity and scope of on-campus programming, to the benefit of both the students attending and the organizations hosting those events.

Last year saw the highest amount of funding ever allocated to allow those programs to grow, and for that reason, students were able to see so many big-name performers throughout the year. The funding that enables most of this program comes from your Student Activity Fee (SAF) and is allocated by a student-led committee, the Budget Review Committee (BRC).

Unfortunately, with the growth in programming, the SAF can no longer fully fund all of the great programs proposed to the BRC. This is the first year where demand has surpassed the supply, and the BRC has been faced with a difficult decision: drastically increase the SAF or scale back on the amounts allocated for each program. In order to ensure that students get the most for their dollar, the BRC has established a monthly budget system to ensure that the SAF can fund programs throughout the entire year, rather than running out of funding early. The BRC still bases every decision on the guidelines of the SAF Manual and is committed to funding the most programs possible under the restrictions of the new budget.

This year, we have brought some of the biggest acts to campus and have seen a wide variety of religious, cultural and academic events. Many student organizations have expressed concern with the limitations of the new budget, which is why the Committee plans to form a working group to re-evaluate the request process in order to make this new budget system work for every student organization.

Working together with students and their organizations, we hope to develop a system that helps us continue to see the events that have become traditions at Northeastern, while ensuring that every student is seeing the benefit of their fee.

If you are interested in getting involved in the BRC, whether it be by sitting on the committee or working as part of the re-evaluation process, please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]. For more information about the BRC, please visit: www.sga.neu.edu.

-Jennifer Hardy is a junior mechanical engineering major, Student Government Association vice president for financial affairs, and chair of the Budget Review Committee.