The Student Government Association is once again under fire as another court case has been filed against the SGA.
Four of the charges in the case, filed by Senator Chris Beumer against the SGA, Vice President Aaron Caton and Attorney General Jarrod Suits, center around Caton’s refusal to allow the second reading of a bill at the Jan. 21 SGA meeting. Senator Tiffany Porter had requested the second reading.
The Student Court will decide if Caton acted within the confines of the SGA Code of Laws.
A fifth charge is against Suits, alleging that he did not properly adhere to the standards of issuing bill numbers.
The final charge is against Caton and alleges abuse of power.
The Student Court must decide if the three defendants are guilty of the charges and what sentence would fit.
The court hearing is set for Monday, Feb. 3, at 3 p.m. The SGA asked for the case to be closed, however, the court has the final decision in deciding to open the hearing. Several witnesses will be called.
Beumer and the defendants are not allowed to comment on the case now that it has been filed.
The Student Court also granted the SGA a new deadline on their decision concerning Summer 606. The SGA has until March 4 to come up with a solution of how to make the guidelines apply to Summer 606 funding as the court ordered.
The court also placed certain requirements on the decision-making process. It strongly recommended the formation of a new committee to make recommendations regarding Summer 606. Half of this committee must be past or current members of the SGA 606 committee.
SGA formed the committee at Tuesday’s meeting. It includes Senators Chris Ziegler, Miranda Lane, Diana Bowers, Brian McCormack, Tiffany Porter, Brandi Garner, Lacey Vinson and Jason Coffey. They will give a weekly progress report to the SGA at each meeting.
Former Senator David Lane, who brought the suit against SGA last semester, strongly disagreed with the ruling from the Student Court and plans to discuss the issue with Dr. Joe Sherlin, assistant dean of students.
“I was never notified that they were going to seek that big of an alteration to the ruling,” Lane said, “I’m not sure how the appellate process is for something like that, but I’m going to look into it.”
Tuesday was also a 606 funding session for SGA. Eleven groups were on the consent calendar with recommendations concerning the amount of 606 funds. Six groups were pulled from off to be discussed. These included Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Campus Greens, Campus Crusade for Christ, Once Again Students in School (OASIS), the Student Painting Drawing and Alumni Association.
Much of the debate over part of these applications focused on the nature of the event being funded. Whether the event was on-campus or off was a primary concern. This session’s funding increased percentage-wise on travel expenses while decreasing on on-campus events.
Many felt that the student body would be more influenced by on-campus events.
“We want to put on-campus first, then go to off-campus,” said President Jennifer Berry.
However, some felt location should not be an issue when allocating 606 funding. “I think you have to take more into account than whether it is on-campus or off,” said Sen. Kobelah Bennah.
When leaving, Berry urged the Senate to think logically about their decisions.
Two groups were given $75 SEED money, which is money given to new organizations that are trying to get started. The two groups were Campus Greens and the Student Painting Drawing and Alumni Association.
In other business, Sen. Lacie Tullock was voted in as Parliamentarian. She and Sen. James Sheffey were sworn into the Senate Review Committee by Chief Justice Andrew Dyer. Sen. Renate Bennett will be sworn in next week as chairman of the Suggestions and Grievances Committee.
The SGA also received a letter of resignation from Sen. Joey Collins.

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