In many of our Student Senate Updates and articles regarding student groups, we often refer to an organization named the Student Activity Fee Committee, commonly referred to as SAFC. You may have heard friends involved in student organizations talk about this group, or maybe you have never heard of SAFC in your life. Regardless, as an undergraduate student, you should know, and care, about what this committee does.

Every school year each undergraduate full-time student pays the Student Activity Fee. This school year the fee was $91, however, it is different each year. That fee goes into the SAFC bank, giving the committee around $1.2 million that is then allocated to all of the recognized student organizations throughout the year. Student Activity Fee Committee Organizations, or SAFOs, have a set budget that is approved the academic year before. When any organization wants to use money, whether it be in a SAFO’s set budget or a recognized student org, it must propose its spending and get that spending approved by the committee.

Any student is welcomed to attend the SAFC meetings and ask questions to the organizations proposing spending budgets. These meetings are every Friday at 2 p.m. in MUB 156 and we at The New Hampshire encourage every student to attend a meeting in their time at UNH to see how the process works first hand. This is how a portion of your many fees are allocated and is essentially the only fee that us students have control over. If you are a student that enjoys events such as CAB bingo, MUSO movies, cultural dinners, the Grind, comedians, SCOPE concerts or even if you just love to read TNH, you are enjoying a product of students who take the time to go to a SAFC meeting.

As stressed many times before, getting involved at UNH is a great way to become an active member of the community. Being aware about how our activity fee money is spent and allocated is one of the first steps in truly becoming an active and educated member or leader in an organization.