RE: Inquiry About Equipment Surplus/Inventory Clean-out

[Marenco-Garcia, Gabe]

Hi all,

 

Apologies for the delay in response to this. While I appreciate the innovative ways to repurpose these items or make some coin off of them, neither of those are viable options. Though they’ve depreciated in value, they still were originally purchased with University-allocated dollars which does make them University property. Even though these items and dollars are under SPEC Sound’s purview, SPEC does not have sole ownership. This was something that was brought up from SPEC Sound before and Katie and I were able to locate the guidance given to us from higher-level financial administration. The two options that follow University policy are:

1. Donating equipment – we’ll need to name the organization
2. Using Penn’s internal marketplace known as Ben’s Attic: https://upenn.unl.edu/Information/Default.aspx (apparently, this option is more cumbersome)

 

Happy to discuss further in an upcoming office hour.

 

Thanks!

Gabe

 

From: Taylor Castro <tay...@specevents.net>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 9:58 AM
To: so...@specevents.net
Cc: Marenco-Garcia, Gabe <mare...@upenn.edu>; Teja Vankireddy <te...@specevents.net>; Teja Vankireddy <te...@wharton.upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: Inquiry About Equipment Surplus/Inventory Clean-out

 

Hi Justin,

 

Thank you for sending all this over; looks great! Gabe and I will discuss this and get back to you with some answers. 

 

Kind regards,

TC

 

On Tue, Feb 24, 2026 at 4:12 PM SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net> wrote:

Hi Gabriel and Taylor,

 

This is Justin from SPEC Sound. I am currently compiling an updated inventory of our gear. During the process, I identified equipment that is either incompatible with our current workflow or is unused because its repair costs exceed its market or use value.

 

Currently, the items take up considerable space in the closet, causing congestion. They will continue to depreciate in value and physical condition, so I want to discuss options for repurposing the decommissioned gear.

I propose the following:

• List functional, higher-value items on sites like eBay or Reverb to reallocate funds for investing in newer gear.
• For older items or those not worth reselling, I am interested in taking personal responsibility for refurbishing certain units or using them for non-SPEC Sound activities if permitted.

I would appreciate the opportunity to revisit SPEC's policy on managing decommissioned items, and I want to make sure I'm 100% aware of how to deal with surplus property. I have CC'd our liaison Teja so she's in the loop.

 

Best regards,

Justin

 

--

SPEC Sound

University of Pennsylvania 

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Eevee Darling: ev...@seas.upenn.edu | 617-939-4552

Justin Duong: jud...@sas.upenn.edu  | 267-237-8211

Trinity Nieves: n...@sas.upenn.edu | 267-665-8355

Carol Rau: caro...@sas.upenn.edu | 626-652-5107

Instagram | Facebook |Event Request Form

 

--

Taylor Castro (They/Them/Theirs)

University of Pennsylvania

Graduate School of Education

Office of Student Affairs Graduate Assistant

[Marenco-Garcia, Gabe]

Hi all,

 

Since Platt is an internal department, I would think it would be totally fine to donate equipment to them. I would just check to make sure that they can make use of and would be willing to accept it. Ultimately, this would change possession of these items and take you all off the hook of any responsibilities related to University property.

 

In short, less red tape to give it to another University dept/entity.

 

Hope that helps!

Gabe

 

From: SPEC Sound <so...@specevents.net>
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2026 5:39 PM
To: Marenco-Garcia, Gabe <mare...@upenn.edu>
Cc: Taylor Castro <tay...@specevents.net>; Teja Vankireddy <te...@specevents.net>; Teja Vankireddy <te...@wharton.upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: Inquiry About Equipment Surplus/Inventory Clean-out

 

Hi Gabe,

Thanks for the clarification! We were having a conversation about where exactly to donate the equipment and the subject of Platt came up. We generally agreed that the gear would find great use there, and our only concern is the administrative side of it. I was hoping to get your two cents on the issue, since I don't know whether Platt qualifies.

 

Anyhow, let me know what you think.

Best,

Justin

[Marenco-Garcia, Gabe]

Hello,
 
Thank you for contacting the Office of Student Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania. I am out of the office and traveling for the ACPA Annual Convention in Baltimore, MD through Thursday, April 2. I will be accessing email in a very limited capacity, so please expect delays in my response during this time and the subsequent days once I return. Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

 

With gratitude,

Gabe Marenco-Garcia (they/them)

Associate Director