The Student Government Association Executive Board (pictured in foreground) continues to meet opposition.

SGA starts semester amid more controversy

Anti-Student Union e-mail campaign involves UM Curators, Chancellor in Student Union debate

By: Megan Henderson

Posted: 1/21/08

Winter break did little to cool the heated debate about a new Student Union.

Students are still fighting against the Student Union referendum which passed last November by 39 votes. But instead of vocal protests, this time a group of students sent e-mails to the University of Missouri System (UM) Board of Curators. The Curators meet Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, at which points they will consider approving the proposed Student Union referendum.

Chancellor Guy Bailey said he was contacted by the Curators to give background information on the various referendums.

"They [the Curators] got e-mails but they didn't really get information about the votes and what the votes were and they didn't know that there had been multiple votes on this thing," Bailey said. "All they did was ask me for background information with the votes. I don't think they asked for a recommendation at all."

However, Bailey is prepared to make a recommendation if the Curators pass the referendum.

"We have to make a recommendation and I think ultimately it's a good thing for our campus," he said.

In a later e-mail, Bailey clarified his correspondence with one of the Curators.

"I was sent an e-mail from a Curator indicating that she had received a letter complaining about the vote on the new student union," Bailey wrote. "I sent her the vote totals and the totals of the two previous votes. I also indicated that I thought UMKC needed a new student union."

At the Jan. 16 Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, SGA President Sean McClain updated the Student Senate on the events.

"A few students, i.e. Bridgett Johnson, have sent letters to all of the Curators saying they shouldn't accept this fee for the Student Union and that it [the election] was done wrongly and it makes UMKC unaffordable," McClain said.

Political science major Johnson, a junior, denied any involvement in the letter-writing campaign.

"When it comes to sending letters to Curators, I had no part in them," Johnson said. "I, unfortunately, was quite busy over my break and had no idea about this until after it was done and I was told about it from students who did participate."

McClain told the Senate he was not worried the letters would affect the Curators' decision.

"The Chancellor [Guy Bailey] has responded to her [Bridgett Johnson's] letter and hopefully things go OK by the meeting on Jan. 31," McClain said. "We'll know for sure when we go there, but I've been in contact with our student curator [Tony Luetkemeyer] and I think that things should be fine."

McClain also said he will attend the Curator meetings at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

"The Curators are very intelligent people and when they are reviewing this they will realize exactly how things happened," McClain said. "They won't be afraid to ask questions. I'll be at the meeting there, too, and so I'll be there to answer questions for the Board of Curators and so will the Chancellor.

"I think the Chancellor has a lot of influence into how things are done on our campus and his opinion is definitely significant and carries weight with the Board of Curators."

The proper course for the students to take would have been to file a grievance with the Superior Court, McClain said, instead of writing to the Curators.

"The point is, it wasn't submitted to the Superior Court and it didn't go through UMKC's process," he said. "So as far as I'm concerned, there isn't really any validity in the argument because if you wanted to make a point then you would have done it the right way."

UMKC Superior Court hears its first case

Bridgett Johnson has filed suit against the SGA, seeking $1,000 in unpaid wages for her role as election director.

During the Jan. 16 SGA meeting, SGA President Sean McClain told the Student Senate of the pending litigation.

"[Johnson] filed grievances with us [SGA] for $1,000 more," McClain said. "We are denying the $1,000 just so you guys know…"

McClain cited two documents: the Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC) bylaws and the election code. He said the documents give conflicting instructions on how to pay the election director.

McClain also suggested Johnson should not receive the money because she had help with the elections and resigned mid-semester.

"Since it was kind of an election year for the SAFC, there was a lot of help and it wasn't just the election director running the election really," McClain said. "Everyone was kind of chipping in and so the [SGA] Executive Board decided it wouldn't be appropriate to give her $1,000, especially because she left the office early."

The U-News reported on Nov. 11 that Johnson was asked by Sarah Lubischer, then director of Student Life, to resign.

SGA offered Johnson compensation, McClain said, but she did not accept it.

Johnson said she was offered $500 minus $300 McClain believed she had received from the College of Arts and Sciences for a total of $200.

"Yes, I declined this offer," Johnson said.

According to Johnson, following her resignation from her job as election director, she filed a petition to receive her pay.

"My petition was filed with the Student Life Office in the beginning of November, if I'm not mistaken," Johnson said. "I had SGA served on Oct. 26 by a fellow student. … DaRon McGee [SGA comptroller] signed it [the petition], stating that he received it."

Procedure requires SGA to respond to such a petition within 10 to 15 days, according to McClain. Because there was no Superior Court at the time Johnson filed her petition, there was no sense in responding to the petition, McClain said.

"We didn't act on it for a month or something because we were waiting to appoint the Superior Court," McClain said. "…we didn't act on it because the Vice Chancellor [for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Mel Tyler] is the person that is supposed to step in and take the place of the Superior Court if there's not one, but there should always be one anyway. But he [Mel Tyler] told us to wait until the Superior Court was appointed because he didn't want to just make a decision and he knew that we were just a few weeks away from the appointments."

The SGA Constitution requires the Superior Court to be appointed at the first regularly scheduled meeting in April. The Court's term should have begun May 1. Appointments to the Superior Court did not take place until the Nov. 14 SGA meeting.

Because SGA did not act in time, Johnson then filed a petition with the Court for a default judgment. The Superior Court heard arguments regarding the second petition for a default judgment on Jan. 14. A ruling has not yet been made. If that petition is denied, the Court will then hear arguments for the original petition.

mhenderson@unews.com