Judicial board hears USG case

The United Students Government's Judicial Council heard a precedent-setting case Tuesday night, with implications on how USG student organizations will fund overseas trips.

The case, SUNY MEU v. USG,involved SUNY Model European Union's contention that they were denied money for a trip to the United Kingdom for a Model European Union conference over the winter break. Several other issues were brought up as well, including reimbursement of the funds they didn't receive and the time it took to get a final decision from USG Treasurer Josh Lipka on whether the money could be used for the trip.

A verdict on the case will be rendered by the end of the week, said Buffalo State Chief Justice Nathan Rey.

Max Ticco and Ryan Gadzo presented the case for SUNY MEU, while USG Rules and Regulations Chair Shannon Campbell and USG Treasurer Josh Lipka argued for the defense.  Vice Treasurer Justine Britten sat in for Lipka until he was able to get to the hearing due to a conflict with class.

Specifics of the case presented by Ticco and Gadzo involve SUNY MEU students expecting to receive $317 from USG to put toward lodging and conference fees on their trip to the United Kingdom. Money for the trip was included in the 2011 – 2012 budget for Student Political Society, the student organization SUNY MEU is affiliated with, Ticco said.

"I would have definitely reconsidered going (on the trip) if I knew it wasn't going to be funded," he said.

The defense argued that the money could not be provided due to the trip being overseas, and liability issues that would entail. The liability issue revolved around USG's insurance and the possibility of what could happen on the trip, Lipka said. If the conference was in the continental U.S., there would not have been a problem.

"It's essentially not for what we can think of happening, but what we can't," he said. "Our insurance policy is for the continental U.S. only. If all of the unknowns were to happen, our insurance doesn't cover us at all."

Questions over how long it took Lipka to answer emails and requests for information were also brought up in the case. Members of SUNY MEU often waited days for a response to an email, including a period of close to two weeks before receive a final decision on getting the money December 5, 2011, Ticco said.

Lipka countered that he was doing what he felt was necessary to arrive at a fair and honest answer. This involved meeting with several staff members on campus, including a failed attempt to speak with Buffalo State Comptroller, James Thor.

"This wasn't just a simple question that could be answered off the cuff," he said. "Eleven business days was a reasonable amount of time to answer this."

Chair of the political science department Laurie Buonanno was asked by Chief Justice Rey if the questions she had on the case were answered.

"No, they are not," she said.

If USG isn't going to provide funding for overseas trips, it needs to be put in writing, Buonanno said. She also said that Lipka knew the trip would be going overseas when the budget was finalized, and expressed frustration on how long it took to get a final answer on the money.

"Could I have at least the courtesy, in writing from USG, that we can never fund this when it's in Europe," she said, "so that I can find the money from somewhere else."

A frustrated Lipka ended the proceeding claiming that any lapse in communication was as much the fault of SUNY MEU as it was his.

"15 days is not a lot," he yelled, referring to the time it took to get a final answer on the money.

Michael Canfield can be reached by email at Canfield.Record@live.com.