COCA SAF Misuse 2008-2009

Last year, a portion of your Student Activities Fee money was misused by COCA, a Community Council subcommittee. One individual, Sam Light, took a clear leadership role in the misuse of SAF funds. Given Sam's position as a representative of the student body to student government and the administration, FiCom has decided that this investigation is a matter of public record.

The following constitutes a summary of FiCom's decision concerning the misuse of COCA funds.

FiCom wants to have all members of Community Council and its subcommittees sign a statement of understanding, after attending an SAF informational meeting run by FiCom, to ensure that they understand the guidelines which dictate SAF use.

COCA will be required to maintain a detailed budget, and meet with FiCom on a regular basis. FiCom will be reviewing their budget and spending with great scrutiny, until they have proven to be able to spend SAF responsibly.

Sam Light took a clear leadership role in the misuse of SAF funds. While the actions of COCA as a whole were troubling, FiCom feels that the actions of Sam Light were particularly egregious. His actions set a negative precedent that other members then followed. As a result, his signer privileges are henceforth revoked. In addition, he cannot receive any funds from the SAF, whether they come from reimbursements or other methods.

FiCom is submitting a full report and presentation to Community Council. The report is available here:

As FiCom does not view itself as a judiciary body, it does not feel it has the authority to penalize these bodies in any manner beyond its limited authority. For this reason, it is submitting the full report and documentation to the Community Review Board, in order for that body to properly address this infraction of community norms.

Additional Information

 * November 8th, 2009: Letter to the Hampshire College Community regarding purchases from last semester: [[Image:Letter to Hampshire College Community From COCA.pdf]]
 * Detailed list of all purchases made by COCA (FiCom also has copies of all the receipts; Sam Light's signature is on the vast majority): [[Image:FiComcopyof COCAbookstorepurchases.pdf]]