Tha Ink Club, which was in court Oct. 16 to defend charges of improper use of United Students Government funds, appeared again in court one week later to contest a 5 percent budget cut they received for missing the mandatory organization representative meeting held twice per semester.
The organization representative meeting is where organizations are educated on what is expected of them as an USG organization. Specific guidelines, policy changes, and constitutional duties are also discussed.
The Biology Club and the Men’s Lacrosse Club have also contested the 5 percent budget cut and argued for their budget to be unfrozen.
In the Tha Ink Club case, Anthony Brown, secretary of the club, testified that because of his forgetfulness he missed the meeting. He also stated that his organization should not be punished due to his actions, Chief Justice Andy Stein wrote in the verdict.
Club president Phylicia Ross and club secretary Anthony Brown represented the Tha Ink club, while Rules and Regulations chair Miguel Pereira argued for USG.
“While President Ross delegated the responsibility, she was still responsible for the actions of her organization’s representative,” Stein wrote.
The court ruled that the budget cut that the Tha Ink club received was unconstitutional due to the fact that they contested the penalty before the deadline mentioned in the constitution.
According to the USG constitution, the budget cut only occurs when an organization doesn’t contest missing the meeting by the deadline mentioned in the constitution.
The court also ruled that both Brown and Ross be penalized for missing the organization representative meeting. Ross, being the president, is responsible for her organization and representative that she delegates.
“They are both responsible for doing 10 hours of community service with an organization other than Tha Ink club,” Stein wrote. “The other organization must be on Buffalo State College’s campus. Both are to submit tangible proof of the completion of these service hours to Rules and Regulation chair, USG Chief Justice, USG Treasurer and the USG Business office. These departments will work together to confirm that the hours are completed, and until then Tha Ink Club budget will remain frozen.”
The two other cases, which were held Oct.30, involved the biology and men’s lacrosse clubs.
The court heard the men’s lacrosse case first, with President Michael Marvin taking full responsibility for not attending the meeting.
Marvin testified that he wrote down the time and place for the meeting but forgot and didn’t delegate any member of his executive board to attend.
He also said that he had limited experience on the executive board and little guidance from his executive board members and organization’s advisor Brent Ford.
Pereira said that due to the lack of experience and help from Mr. Marvin’s team, the organization should not be fined the 5 percent cut.
The court ruled that due to the lack of leadership shown by the organization’s president, and not delegating some of the responsibilities to another organization representative, the club should be charged with a three percent cut to their budget totaling $8,025 for the 2012-2013 academic year.
The court ordered that each member of the men’s lacrosse executive board complete 4 hours of community service with an organization on campus other than the men’s lacrosse club. On completion of the hours, each e-board member should submit proof that the hours were sufficiently completed. Until then, their budget will remain frozen.
The Judicial Court heard one last case for the night involving the Biology Club and their failure to attend the meeting.
Vice President Katelin Kostek and Treasurer Robert Keitz of the Biology Club presented their case and Pereira again represented USG.
Kostek testified that due to former secretary James Painter resigning abruptly and not notifying any executive members about the meeting, their organization missed the meeting on Oct.16.
She said that Painter was the one responsible for meetings and doing secretarial duties and didn’t give the organization enough time to transition into finding his replacement.
Pereira said that he received an email from Painter stating that the position was affecting his academics and that he was resigning and put his club in a bad position.
“Mr. Painter resigned on Oct. 10, 2012, which gave the club six days to know what was going on in regards to the meeting,” Pereira said. “There were notifications, posters, emails, and memos sent out to all organizations about the meeting.”
The court found that due to their unpreparedness, and given the fact that they were former executive board members, they should have been aware of the duties and responsibilities of the organization. The court ruled that they should receive the 5 percent budget cut.
Sashana Campbell can be reached by email at campbell.record@live.com.