Students at The University of Memphis pay a $44 student activity fee each semester, but many students have no idea what kind of student activities the fee finances.
But students may be surprised to know how many of the free activities and benefits on campus are funded by the student activity fee.
The Student Activities Fee Allocations Committee distributes the money collected from the student activity fee, totaling $1,171,856 this semester, to various organizations on campus.
The Student Activities Council got the biggest piece of the pie, $434,081, for the 2001-02 year. According to SAC president Keith Ellis, the money pays for all of the various campus-wide events SAC hosts each year.
“We try to provide as much free entertainment as we can,” Ellis said.
Activity fee-funded events for the fall semester include all Welcome Back Week activities, Homecoming Week activities, several guest speakers and the upcoming Fuel concert.
The Fuel concert, scheduled for Sept. 6 in the new Michael D. Rose Theater, actually costs $10 to attend, but the student activity fee helps to offset some of the costs of bringing big-name musical acts like the rock band to campus.
“Sometimes we have to charge for things like bands to get bigger names and to guarantee they come to campus, but the money we charge is resupplemented back into other activities,” Ellis said.
The second largest allocation of dollars, $225,000, went to the Student Government Association.
The SAC Co-Sponsorship committee was given $150,000 for the 2001-02 year.
According to the assistant coordinator of student activities, Angie Dunlap, the committee is “designed to provide resources to student organizations who want to do events for the campus.”
Interested organizations must submit a proposal outlining the requested amount of money and what the organization wants to do with the money to a student-run board of representatives.
Dunlap said the committee allocated all of its money last year, but that some organizations never cashed in the money they were promised. The leftover dollars were funneled back into the general pool of student activity fee dollars.
Dunlap said she expects all the money will be allocated for this year, too.
“We’ll definitely allocate it all, because word is spreading among student organizations that the money is available,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap also oversees the Operational Assistance Fund, which was given $35,000 this year by the Student Activities Fee Allocation Commission.
The operational assistance fund is set up to financially assist student organizations in daily operations, such as providing the funds to photocopy fliers or mail newsletters. Each organization has access to $400 each semester for the fall and spring semesters, and $300 for the summer semester.
Students not directly involved in campus organizations also benefit from student activity fee dollars, sometimes in ways they do not even realize.
The Daily Helmsman uses their yearly $70,000 stipend to help keep the paper free for students. Candy Justice, general manager of The Daily Helmsman, said that the money from the student activity fee goes entirely toward the newspaper’s printing costs.
“Without the fee money, we couldn’t guarantee the paper would be free,” Justice said.
The Student Handbook and Planner is another free printed resource for students, funded by a $31,500 stipend from the activity fee.
William Porter, assistant vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, said the money goes directly and solely to printing costs for the planner. On-campus students receive the planner when they move into their dorms. Off-campus students can pick up a copy of the planner at the University Center Information Desk.
Porter also received a $50,000 stipend from the activity fee for spirit activities, including the pompons and shakers handed out at athletic games and the free bus rides for students to Tiger basketball home games at the Pyramid.
“The fee helps us get a good number of students to the games that would otherwise be unable to go,” Porter said.
The Department of Theatre and Dance received $85,005 for the 2001-02 year to produce six shows for the upcoming season. Costumes, sets and lighting are funded by activity fee dollars.
“This is a learning ground for student designers, actors, lighting technicians and audiences,” said Alice Berry, director of Publicity and Promotion for the Department of Theatre and Dance. Berry said the fees allow students not only to produce but also to watch live theater.
LaRuth Lofties, program services specialist, received $20,000 this year to buy tickets from various community entertainment companies, such as Playhouse on the Square and Memphis Black Repertory Theater.
Lofties said she has already spent $11,412 of the $20,000 on tickets.
“Students like to get off campus,” Lofties said.
Lofties buys a certain number of tickets for a small lump sum from the various organizations, and then distributes the tickets as they are requested. If a particular event’s tickets seem to be selling quickly, she will order more.
“It’s kind of like having a sixth sense, asking myself, ‘Do students like this ballet?’ or ‘do they want to see this play?’” Lofties said.
The following organizations also received money from the student activity fee pool: the Art Museum — $23,000, and Synergy, a student leadership retreat — $13,270.
