The All Undergraduate Student Association Senate (AUSA) has come to a fork in the road. It needs to make a decision about the excess funds process for winter quarter.
Since its inception during the 1999-2000 year, the excess funds process has taken a steady detour from its constitutional rules. Although in the 2000-2001 Senate there were divergences from the constitutional guidelines, this year the violation of the constitutional guidelines was the most blatant and egregious yet. When the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) applied for excess funds this year, it was in violation of provision A of the excess funds constitution. In section A it states that, “Any University of Denver undergraduate student or All Undergraduate Student Association (AUSA) Senate Licensed Organization may submit a proposal for use of the excess funds account.”
Senate violated these guidelines by allowing a non-student facilitator present the proposal and by then funding the non-licensed student organization. In fact, the Catholic Church funds the group FOCUS.
Sadly, a new culture has arisen in some quarters of the Senate that has come to tolerate the routine violation of the excess funds constitution. When I raised the concerns about provision A, one individual commented how the clause had not been adhered to since almost the beginning of the process. These types of violations need to be addressed now, but there is pressure within the Senate to do nothing and instead address the problem when future problems arise.
This is unacceptable, when the excess funds constitution outlines that unconstitutional allocations must be punished by nullification. The constitution states in section A of the penalty clause segment that, “if the AUSA Senate does not follow this procedure, then all allocations from the excess funds account will be nullified.” The Senate has the choice of burying the hatchet on this matter without redress, or standing up for its own constitution and nullifying the funds alloted which violated the excess funds provision.
Under the present Senate constitution, there is the possibility that a group such as FOCUS could receive funding in the future.
It is time for the Senate to walk the right path and enact a whole slew of reforms such as constitutional amendments banning funding for political and religious groups. Additionally, there needs to be a judicial oversight committee to make sure the Senate is behaving in a constitutional manner. Now is the time to express your concerns.
