SFC grants pay for members who were away

    Two Student Fee Committee members who were out of the continental United States for summer vacation will receive their full stipends for time away from office, the committee decided Monday.

    In a majority vote, six of the eight committee members voted to approve back-pay for Briana Tagupa and Makerusa Porotesano, who were both absent from the University for the months of July and August, in the amount of $1050 each.

    SFC Vice Chair Aubrey Lindstrom said in Monday’s meeting that Tagupa and Portesano were warranted pay because no one had informed them that they would not be paid until they returned in September, and that there are no current policies or guidelines about circumstances like this one in the SFC guidelines.

    It was decided originally by the SFC that the two members would not receive pay for their time away from their SFC duties. Their appeal was brought to the committee last week, but pushed forward for discussion until yesterday.

    It was decided that the back pay would be paid over a period of three months instead of in one lump sum, a suggestion made by Dean of Students Wendy Endress.    

    Endress previously stated in an email to SFC Chair last week that she “will not sign paperwork that provides them with a stipend when they were not in Oregon and/or not engaging in SFC member responsibilities.”

    Endress reversed her sentiment at Monday’s meeting. “There is a rationale for releasing the stipend,” she said.

    Tagupa said that she expected the money from previous discussions with the SFC, but not dispersed over three months.

    ”I pretty much expected it,” she said. “It’s not ideal but I’ll take it.”