Student organizations will have to jump through more bureaucratic hoops when selling food and fundraising on-campus due to changes to the Student Code of Conduct.

The updated policy – 6-028 – will require clubs to get pre-approval and certifications before hosting their fundraising events. 

Related: USF students are divided over new on-campus gathering policies

From bake sales to how organizations raise money on campus, here’s how the regulation will impact students.

Food

Student clubs will now need to make reservations in advance to organize on campus when serving food, which can take several weeks for approval. 

Related: Protesters at USF need pre-approval to gather with amplified sound and displays

Dishes made at home can no longer be sold on campus to members of the community or to visitors. Potlucks and internal club events are excluded from this policy.

Peter Kyriacou, president of the Anthropology Club, said this has come as a blow to student cultural organizations, as many of them depend on homemade food for fundraising and student outreach.

“This policy will upend our long standing tradition of holding bake sales for fundraising,” Kyriacou said. “Combined with a reduced budget for all student organizations this year, the new changes will make it exponentially [more] difficult for us to raise money and keep running.” 

This could make it more difficult for clubs to host events this fall semester as students start traversing the new policy and reservations start pouring in, Sarah Alvarez said. 

Alvarez is the treasurer of Circle K International Chapter at USF. Circle K is a student club under the parent company KIWANIS, which is a non-profit organization promoting community service

Alvarez said that, for the upcoming semester, clubs may end up having to push their events back to later in the semester to accommodate for the waiting period between registration and approval. 

“Let’s say there are last minute changes, it’s really difficult to be able to make those changes now if you need approval in advance,” Alvarez said.  

Having ServSafe food certifications, which is a third party certification, will now be necessary for those serving and selling food on campus, according to the policy. 

ServSafe is a third party certification, which has caused concerns about a cost barrier and scheduling to come up for students. The certification is $15, and that cost falls on the students themselves or the club. 

“Now you’re requiring [students] pay something to do something when the whole point of it is to raise money,” Alvarez said. “Now it’s the cost of getting the certificate for everyone serving food, then it’s getting the initial cost of all the supplies, so now… what’s profit?”

Larger clubs and organizations, like the Campus Activity Board (CAB), won’t see too many changes to their process, Annie Gaona, committee member for CAB said.  

For example, CAB, which hosts more wide-reaching events, uses USF Dining for all of the food it provides and, due to the size of their events, making reservations through USF is something they are familiar with, Gaona said.

The challenges this policy will create for smaller organizations is still evident however, Gaona said. 

“I hope this doesn’t deter students from trying to host their own event because, truly, student involvement runs our campus,” Gaona said. 

Fundraising

Fundraising activities have to feature the name of the organization that the fundraiser is for, the portion of the funds being donated, and the planners responsible for the full cost of the fundraiser. 

This portion of the policy had a mixed reaction from students with some finding it beneficial, to others thinking it will be a hindrance to student organizations. 

For organizations like CAB, fundraising is not a big part of their mission, so this change wouldn’t apply, Gaona said. 

Other organizations view naming donation recipients during the events as a “double-edged sword,” Alvarez said. It can give the fundraiser more or less legitimacy depending on how well known the organization is, according to Alvarez.

At the same time, more cultural clubs are outsourcing their fundraisers and hosting them off campus, Alvarez said. 

“Instead of doing a bake sale let’s do a Blaze fundraiser, let’s do a Chipotle fundraiser, because they are making back 25% of whatever code goes through, and they don’t have to worry about someone shutting them down,” Alvarez said. 

Some view this change as debilitating to clubs and their ability to fundraise. 

“I think that USF wiping its hands off covering the costs of holding a fundraiser will only limit the ability of clubs to raise funds and cause more expenses to the detriment of student clubs,” Kyriacou said.