A former ASUO Constitution Court justice who received several months of stipend pay last year after he was no longer a University student has not repaid the money because he had no written agreement with last year’s Executive.
Jerome Roberts left the University to attend Lane Community College after fall term last year, but continued to serve on the court through winter. He earned $375 in stipend pay, funded through student incidental fees, and attended a fee-funded trip to Washington, D.C. before ASUO Controllers realized he was not a current student.
Only students who attend the University and pay the incidental fee are eligible to serve in the ASUO.
Student government leaders at the time worked out a plan with Roberts to pay back the money, but there was only a verbal agreement that the two parties apparently understood differently. Roberts said he did not know who he was supposed to return the money to.
“I was a non-student and I had already made a couple of mistakes and I didn’t want to make any more,” he said.
Roberts kept his job in the Student Recreation Center and said at the time it slipped his mind that he was no longer an enrolled student.
“It didn’t occur to me to think, ‘hey you’re not paying the I-fee any more, so you’re not eligible,’” he told the Emerald in May. “The last thing on my mind was Con Court when I switched schools.”
Former Finance Coordinator Madeline Wigen had a different understanding.
“Our discussion was that he would pay it back over a period of a few months,” she said. “Any payment plan we were going to come up with wasn’t going to be done in a month and a half,” the period of time left in the school year when the agreement was arranged.
On Sunday, Senate President Athan Papailiou sent an e-mail to current ASUO President Emily McLain and others including the University’s acting-Vice President of Student Affairs Mike Eyster and Director of Student Conduct Carl Yeh, reminding them of the issue.
“Over seven months after the fact, no money has been collected from Jerome Roberts as indicated by zero funds deposited to the ASUO Controller’s office,” Papailiou wrote.
“I recommend that given Mr. Roberts’ breach of an agreement made with last year’s Executive that the finances be resolved through accounts and billing in Oregon Hall.”
McLain said she plans to arrange a meeting with Roberts, Vice President Chii-San SunOwen, and new Finance Coordinator Matt Rose to work out a new payment plan.
According to former ASUO President Jared Axelrod, the arrangement reached last year had Roberts making payments of $50 per month until the full amount was repaid.
Axelrod said he and Roberts “were both on the same page, along with Madeline (Wigen), that a verbal agreement was sufficient.” He said he believed the three had agreed for the money to be paid to EMU Accounting.
EMU Business Manager Jean Sun confirmed that no payments from Roberts had been received. Once payments are made they will go back to the ASUO, she said.
ASUO Programs Coordinator Liora Sponko said that sending the bill to collections through Oregon Hall or putting a hold on Roberts’ account with the University were options that would be discussed with the Executive and the Senate, but nothing had been decided.
“These things can happen, but there needs to be more discussion,” she said.
Chief Justice Matt Greene said last spring that Roberts would have been the fourth member to participate in any ruling and only three are needed, so Roberts didn’t decide any cases while he wasn’t a student.
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