First, the University of Hartford decided to petition to demote Division I athletics under the claim that it wanted to focus more on academics and student experience.  Now, the University, beginning as soon as next semester, is requiring clubs to be self-funded in their entirety.  This includes any possible expenses that clubs and organizations may have will either be required to fundraise or come out of students' pockets when they already pay approximately $1,000 per semester for student services.  All this, on barely a semester's notice, will be detrimental for clubs and organizations on campus.

Many clubs use SGA provided money for incredible opportunities for students including reimbursement for conferences, professional networking opportunities, and even meals for general members to enjoy in each others' company.  This money also can go to competition fees for those clubs who compete including Formula SAE, acapella coalition, and so many more.  The fact that the university expects clubs to just have extra money laying around for students to pay these is ridiculous. On top of that, traditional money-making fundraisers where students make food or drink and sell from their dorms have been completely eliminated.  Instead, the University is requiring clubs and organizations use dining services for any food products they want to sell (which is costly), as well as requiring they hire a server for that.   Traditionally, food fundraisers are held between the hours of 9pm and 1am, so having a server would cost a large amount of money.  To boot, this is food that students already eat on a daily basis in the dining hall, meaning they'd be less likely to purchase.

For many clubs, this will cause them to cease to exist simply because they can't afford to remain operational given these conditions.  We, as students of the University of Hartford, want all students to have the chance to enjoy their college experiences and be in clubs and organizations, but with these new regulations, it feels as though this will be impossible.