In his first direct statement to the SFC since returning the budget to the committee on April 19, President Daniel Bernstine issued the ultimatum many student leaders feared was coming: the returned student fee budget must be reapproached by the SFC soon or the president will alter it as he sees fit.
The president delivered a letter to Katie Wylie, Student Fee Committee chair, on Monday afternoon demanding that the committee either change group budget allocations that exceed a 25 percent change or provide evidence that those budgets have been approved by a three-quarters majority vote by May 10.
If the SFC fails to submit a valid budget in the allotted time, Bernstine intends to apply his interpretation of the SFC guidelines to the affected groups, meaning that he will modify each budget so the allocations are below the 25 percent cut-off. Fifteen groups, including OSPIRG, Campus Crusade for Christ and the Helen Gordon Child Development Center, are affected.
According to SFC guidelines, the president has 10 business days after receiving the budget to “acknowledge and accept in writing the recommendations of the SFC or notify the SFC in writing of any modifications under consideration, including reasons for the proposed modification.” After 27 days the president responded to the SFC in writing.
Under state law if the SFC and president disagree about final allocations, the two sides move into mediation before a hearings board.
“[Bernstine is] saying that we have to change our budget or he will,” said SFC member Kayla Goldfarb.
The Student Fee Committee allocates nearly $10 million in student incidental fees to student groups, including the Vanguard and athletics.
“I do think Bernstine has imposed a timeline of his own making,” Wylie said. “He’s not following guidelines. He’s used the anxiety we feel about getting student groups funding to force action.”
Student leaders have become increasingly concerned with what they consider the administration’s disrespect for student process and autonomy. In his letter to Wylie, Bernstine said that since there are no specific allocation amounts in question and that because “we are all legally bound by the opinion of the Department of Justice,” there is no basis for a hearings board to mediate this issue. This effectively bypasses the only option outlined in the SFC guidelines to resolve differences of opinion the committee may have with the president.
“The letter is just the administration continuing to overrun our process,” said student body President-elect Courtney Morse. “It seems ridiculous that we’d reopen all these budgets.”
Bernstine initially returned the budget to the SFC on April 19 on the advice of Portland State legal counsel Kelly Gabliks, citing the committee’s failure to comply with their own guidelines.
Last year’s SFC amended the committee guidelines to require a three-fourths majority vote on any budget altered by 25 percent or more. On Nov. 22, the Judicial Board ruled that change in conflict with the ASPSU constitution because it would violate viewpoint-neutrality requirements as outlined in the 7th Circuit Court case Southworth v. Board of Regents.
A week later the board amended their ruling to focus the language more specifically on the ASPSU constitution after Student Activities Leadership Program adviser Natalee Webb raised concerns about the citing of the Southworth case. The SFC then altered their guidelines in accordance with the Judicial Board’s ruling.
“We followed the process of ASPSU as a whole,” Wylie said. “It’s our job to be bound to the constitution. At a certain point our job is to fund students.”
Gabliks spoke at a Judicial Board meeting Monday to reiterate her concerns with the board’s ruling and said that the board lacks the authority to interpret case law, such as the Southworth case, and to declare guidelines unconstitutional.
“My legal opinion is that the J-Board doesn’t have the legal jurisdiction to make this call,” Gabliks said. “I have to conclude that the process was not followed.”
The board may not rescind the initial motion or alter it because it was already applied when the SFC changed their guidelines and started the budgeting process.
“Even if we wanted to rescind the motion we’re not in a position to do it,” said Chief Justice Kenneth Godfrey.
The SFC now has a small window of opportunity to act, as it must resolve this issue by next Wednesday. The committee plans to meet with President Bernstine later this week and will hold an emergency meeting for affected student groups on Saturday, May 6, at 11 a.m.
Though no concrete plans have been made to deal with the budget crisis, according to Morse there is growing momentum to pass each affected group’s budget with a three-fourths majority and send the budget back to the president’s office. The possibility remains that each group will go through a new budget hearing, with initial hearings on Saturday and appeals early next week.
“It’s completely unfair for student groups to have to suffer [by getting less money],” Morse said. “Student groups are uniting behind this issue. They’ll be there Saturday.”
Deck
Owen Smith
In his first direct statement to the SFC since returning the budget to the committee on April 19, President Daniel Bernstine issued the ultimatum many student leaders feared was coming: the returned student fee budget must be reapproached by the SFC soon or the president will alter it as he sees fit.
The president delivered a letter to Katie Wylie, Student Fee Committee chair, on Monday afternoon demanding that the committee either change group budget allocations that exceed a 25 percent change or provide evidence that those budgets have been approved by a three-quarters majority vote by May 10.
If the SFC fails to submit a valid budget in the allotted time, Bernstine intends to apply his interpretation of the SFC guidelines to the affected groups, meaning that he will modify each budget so the allocations are below the 25 percent cut-off. Fifteen groups, including OSPIRG, Campus Crusade for Christ and the Helen Gordon Child Development Center, are affected.
According to SFC guidelines, the president has 10 business days after receiving the budget to “acknowledge and accept in writing the recommendations of the SFC or notify the SFC in writing of any modifications under consideration, including reasons for the proposed modification.” After 27 days the president responded to the SFC in writing.
Under state law if the SFC and president disagree about final allocations, the two sides move into mediation before a hearings board.
“[Bernstine is] saying that we have to change our budget or he will,” said SFC member Kayla Goldfarb.
The Student Fee Committee allocates nearly $10 million in student incidental fees to student groups, including the Vanguard and athletics.
“I do think Bernstine has imposed a timeline of his own making,” Wylie said. “He’s not following guidelines. He’s used the anxiety we feel about getting student groups funding to force action.”
Student leaders have become increasingly concerned with what they consider the administration’s disrespect for student process and autonomy. In his letter to Wylie, Bernstine said that since there are no specific allocation amounts in question and that because “we are all legally bound by the opinion of the Department of Justice,” there is no basis for a hearings board to mediate this issue. This effectively bypasses the only option outlined in the SFC guidelines to resolve differences of opinion the committee may have with the president.
“The letter is just the administration continuing to overrun our process,” said student body President-elect Courtney Morse. “It seems ridiculous that we’d reopen all these budgets.”
Bernstine initially returned the budget to the SFC on April 19 on the advice of Portland State legal counsel Kelly Gabliks, citing the committee’s failure to comply with their own guidelines.
Last year’s SFC amended the committee guidelines to require a three-fourths majority vote on any budget altered by 25 percent or more. On Nov. 22, the Judicial Board ruled that change in conflict with the ASPSU constitution because it would violate viewpoint-neutrality requirements as outlined in the 7th Circuit Court case Southworth v. Board of Regents.
A week later the board amended their ruling to focus the language more specifically on the ASPSU constitution after Student Activities Leadership Program adviser Natalee Webb raised concerns about the citing of the Southworth case. The SFC then altered their guidelines in accordance with the Judicial Board’s ruling.
“We followed the process of ASPSU as a whole,” Wylie said. “It’s our job to be bound to the constitution. At a certain point our job is to fund students.”
Gabliks spoke at a Judicial Board meeting Monday to reiterate her concerns with the board’s ruling and said that the board lacks the authority to interpret case law, such as the Southworth case, and to declare guidelines unconstitutional.
“My legal opinion is that the J-Board doesn’t have the legal jurisdiction to make this call,” Gabliks said. “I have to conclude that the process was not followed.”
The board may not rescind the initial motion or alter it because it was already applied when the SFC changed their guidelines and started the budgeting process.
“Even if we wanted to rescind the motion we’re not in a position to do it,” said Chief Justice Kenneth Godfrey.
The SFC now has a small window of opportunity to act, as it must resolve this issue by next Wednesday. The committee plans to meet with President Bernstine later this week and will hold an emergency meeting for affected student groups on Saturday, May 6, at 11 a.m.
Though no concrete plans have been made to deal with the budget crisis, according to Morse there is growing momentum to pass each affected group’s budget with a three-fourths majority and send the budget back to the president’s office. The possibility remains that each group will go through a new budget hearing, with initial hearings on Saturday and appeals early next week.
“It’s completely unfair for student groups to have to suffer [by getting less money],” Morse said. “Student groups are uniting behind this issue. They’ll be there Saturday.”