A Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC) appeals board met with members of the executive board of SAFC, the a cappella group Not Too Sharp (NTS), and a pair of appellants in the Memorial Union Building (MUB) on the morning of Wednesday, March 1, to discuss a SAFC decision that was made two weeks prior.
SAFC, the committee responsible for allocating funds raised from the student activity fee to student organizations, recently awarded the student a cappella group Not Too Sharp $10,000 to fund the production of their new album, which will be titled “Rewind.”
Kunal Kapur and Christian Merheb appealed to the board to overturn the decision made by SAFC to fund the production of the group’s album.
Each club or student organization that receives funds from SAFC is required to meet with the committee and create a budget.
Not Too Sharp is a UNH all-male a cappella group which circumvents the need for instruments and choreographs musical numbers with vocal numbers and bouncy enthusiasm. The group has produced multiple full-length albums and has been featured live on “The Today Show.”
Merheb suggested the proxy voters on the issue were not informed enough to weigh in on such a decision. A proxy voter is a replacement for an appointed member of SAFC who could not be present to attend a meeting. Merheb pointed out these individuals were not properly briefed on the issues at hand.
Henry Edwards, the representative for Not Too Sharp at the Wednesday hearing, noted the expensive costs of producing a high quality album, and pointed out the group’s former success with their prior album that sold somewhere between 200 and 300 copies. Neither NTS nor the SAFC had the proper figures to determine how much money was made from the sales.
Kapur suggested the online iTunes sales made by NTS did not give the proper royalties to the university’s funding their endeavors.
The group plans on continuing the project regardless of the board’s decision on the matter, which has yet to be revealed.
Edwards said the group applies for several grants a year and will pursue a lower budget production process if necessary.
“Our last album was recognized nationally. We really want to keep that momentum going,” Edwards said.
The decision regarding the matter of the hearing is expected to be released by Friday.
