Two former Student Government Association members formally apologized for working more than their salaries permitted, resulting in more than $300 being distributed between them.
During the SGA meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11, former SGA senators Leslie Drury, psychology junior, and Elizabeth Jackson, international studies junior, apologized to SGA members during the student forum for accepting the money.
Drury, who held the position of tech officer last semester, said the incident was a simple misunderstanding.
“I take responsibility of [the error],” she said. “It was probably my error. I want to say that it’s my fault, I should have done a better job tracking my hours, but nothing showed up that said I’d worked too many.”
After hearing rumors of theft, Drury said she wanted to come forward and make sure everyone knew it was a mistake.
Jackson, who was SGA pro temp last semester, also proclaimed her innocence.
“I’m not a thief,” Jackson said in front of the SGA.
Jackson declined to speak to The Horizon about the issue.
Because the SGA cannot accept donations, the two students can’t actually pay the association back. Instead, both students offered to volunteer for free as a way to reimburse the SGA.
Of the $12,597 budgeted to SGA, $5,000 is used for students salaries. Members log in through OneStart and track their own hours.
“A few people inadvertently took more than they thought they had,” SGA president James Bonsall, business junior, said.
SGA senator Johann Pedolzky, political science and philosophy senior, said what had happened was they thought their annual salary was their semester salary.
Bonsall said there was a way to prevent this problem from happening again.
“If IU Southeast would provide us with a system where we could just pay a certain dollar amount every week to the officers in that position, it would make it so much easier,” Bonsall said.
SGA treasurer Kevin Evans, elementary education freshman, said necessary steps have been taken to improve accountability.
Evans said one student keeps a record of the hours each SGA member has worked.
“It’s an excel spreadsheet with everybody’s name on it,” Evans said. “It has the amount of hours they have left and the amount of money they are aloud to claim.”
During the Thursday meeting, the SGA also discussed purchasing advertisement space on students’ planners.
The media project bill, authored by Evans, would spend $425 — the remaining advertisement budget — to purchase the backspace of more than 2,500 IUS student planner.
“It’s money we have to use,” Evans said, adding the group was getting a fair price and had successfully got the lowest price available.
“I think it would be a good outreach to other students,” he said.
SGA senate chair Jonathan Moody, psychology junior, voiced concerns on the cost of design.
Evans suggested five designs be created, and the members should choose their favorite.
In other business at the meeting, the SGA nominated SGA internal and external affairs secretary Lee Allen, psychology and political science sophomore, as chief justice.
“My attendance has been exemplary,” Allen said. “I like growing as a person.”
Pedolzky said Allen was qualified for the position, but his attendance was a factor.
“Aside from all the great qualities Allen has, he shows up to the meetings,” Pedolzky said.
Staff Writer
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