In preparation for a push to reform the club financing system, Union President Jenny Feinberg '07 has met with about 30 club leaders and plans to meet with leaders from every one of the more than 200 campus clubs before the semester is out.Her efforts come in response to both student and administrative criticism of how the Student Activities Fee-the one percent of tuition, or about $1 million a year, which funds all student-run campus groups-is distributed.

"A lot [of clubs] are experiencing frustration about getting money from the Finance Board and not knowing where else to go for funds," she said. "We need to find out if we're delegating funds correctly and if the finance board has enough [money to give out]."

She said the Union is currently having "think-tank conversations" to evaluate how money is being spent and allocated, but emphasized that those discussions are "very tactful and very honest" and not an attack on any particular groups or their funding.

"My purpose is to understand better what [the clubs] are doing, and most importantly, how they are experiencing the financial system," Feinberg said.

Feinberg said many factors complicate SAF allocation. One particularly challenging aspect, she said, involves the campus' seven secured funding groups-WBRS, Archon, the Justice, BTV, Waltham Group, BEMCo and the Student Union-which receive approximately 60 percent of the nearly one-million-dollar fund, while the other clubs must vie for the remaining funds, that total slightly less than $400,000 and are distributed by the finance board.

Another challenge is the high number of clubs constantly requesting money from the finance board, and Feinberg acknowledged that part of the purpose of her meetings is to make sure clubs receiving money are "doing what they're supposed to be doing."

"There is a lot of pressure on the student senate right now to deny charter to many more clubs because the student Finance Board is already getting so many requests and so many people are demanding money," Feinberg said.

Speaking to the Justice about club funding in late August, Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer called the current finance system inadequate and said there is "too much money and too much need today for the system to be efficient."

Feinberg said she was working with clubs to discuss ways for groups to better share their resources. For instance, Feinberg said that though dance clubs rarely communicate with one another, she found that they could benefit by sharing a stereo.

She added that clubs could also co-sponsor events to improve the campus' social atmosphere. Feinberg envisions campus-wide events coordinated between several clubs, which she believes will help to bring together diverse parts of the Brandeis community.

"We don't want 20 different events on one night," Feinberg said. "The more people involved in planning [a single] event, the more attendees it gets."

Feinberg's efforts mirror the purpose of the AMP (A More Perfect...) committee-a group of students and faculty assembled by the Student Union last year to revaluate Union procedures.

The committee was made permanent in last March's Student Union elections when students voted to pass a constitutional amendment mandating a "task force charged with conducting a full review of all aspects of [the Union], including the operation of clubs, secured organizations and Union government."

Feinberg said AMP "hasn't dissolved; it just hasn't picked up yet."

Meeting with leaders from over 200 clubs is a hefty task, but the meetings are necessary to better understand and address students' concerns, she said.

While funding issues underlie many club problems, Feinberg said that finances come secondary to student interests.

"The financial thing is the bane of my existence, because so many clubs are upset about [the situation]," she said. "But it's not just about the money, it's about what people care about.