The Student Fee Committee has discretion to allow student groups to deviate from their initial yearly budgets, Portland State’s Judicial Board ruled yesterday.
The ruling came after a group, the Concerned Students of Portland State University, submitted a question of interpretation asking if a student group is allowed to deviate from how initial allocations of its budget are sectioned. The group has said that there is a need for more oversight in student group spending.
Members of Concerned Students of Portland State University were not present for the ruling, but they issued a statement saying that they do not believe Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU) governing documents grant student groups the ability to change their budget after it is allocated.
Judicial Board Chair Keith Creech said the answer to the question of interpretation is straightforward according to the guiding documents of ASPSU.
If student groups change their budget without first getting approval from the SFC they could still be reprimanded and their budget could be taken away, committee Chair Amanda Newberg said.