"The basic assumption behind this policy-that all Amherst students have the money to pay out-of-pocket-is inherently classist, as well as being inaccurate," said FACE co-chair Lila MacLean '02.
But the SFC saw problems with the old policy. "The SFC's previous policy, in regards to purchase orders, was plagued by a history of misuse and irresponsibility," said Ben Armour '01, chair of the SFC.
Most student organizations on campus receive the bulk of their funding from the SFC.
"FACE is a student group dedicated to fighting classism on campus and to making life easier for all students struggling with the cost of an Amherst education," said Lila MacLean '02, FACE co-chair. She added that the SFC's policy against purchase orders is a problem because "the only way for a group to get stuff from off-campus is for someone in the group to pay for it out of pocket and then get reimbursed."
MacLean added that the policy "puts a huge financial burden on the chairs of student groups."
Maurita Tam '01, co-chair of the Asian Students Association (ASA), supports FACE's complaint. "I totally agree with their objections," said Tam. "I paid over $200 out of my own pocket for an ASA event that happened three weeks ago, and I'm still waiting to be reimbursed. It's really inconvenient to have to pay first and be reimbursed later. That's asking too much out of students."
Last year, when off-campus purchase orders were still obtainable, the SFC issued less than 10. However, they issued more than 1,000 reimbursements, according to Armour.
"Clearly, prohibiting purchase orders does not handicap Amherst students because there are other alternatives available, manifested by the fact that purchase orders were never used with great frequency in the past," said Armour. "Contrary to what FACE may think, the SFC is not hanging students out to dry."
The Comptroller's office suggested that the SFC eliminate the use of purchase orders because, according to Armour, "we lost credibility with local businesses and we wasted many SFC dollars. Secondly, purchase orders-when they were accepted-were often accepted on the credit of Amherst College, not Amherst College's Student Finance Committee. Students often intentionally misrepresented where they were from."
Armour also said that he does not agree with FACE's representation of the impact of purchase orders. The SFC has only stopped issuing purchase orders for off-campus business and "much of the 'stuff' that is currently purchased off-campus may, in fact, be purchased on-campus using purchase orders," said Armour.
"Meeting supplies and food expenditures, the bulk of most SFC-funded clubs' budgets, can be purchased at [the Office of Administrative Services (OAS)] and Valentine, respectively. Above and beyond these expenditures, many clubs and organizations have agreements with local vendors to have an invoice sent directly to the SFC."
Armour added that the SFC pays for performers and speakers directly.
FACE has only recently begun discussing and formulating their objections and has not yet formally articulated them to the SFC, according to MacLean, who added that FACE is hoping to put together a workable funding plan for the SFC.