A former ASUO Constitution Court justice worked for an entire term and received $375 in stipend pay – funded through the incidental fee – and attended a fee-funded trip to Washington, D.C., before ASUO controllers realized he was not a current student.
Jerome Roberts left the University to attend Lane Community College after fall term, but continued to serve on the court during winter term, earning $125 per month in stipend pay, which he must now pay back. Only students who attend the University and pay the incidental fee are eligible to serve in the ASUO, Roberts said.
ASUO President Jared Axelrod said the money will go back to an incidental fee fund and will most likely roll over into next year’s surplus. Roberts said he is still in the process of working with ASUO Finance Coordinator Madeline Wigen to finalize his repayment plan. Wigen said the staff discovered Roberts was no longer a student while doing routine checks of student status over spring break.
After the discovery was made, Wigen and Axelrod met with Roberts, who agreed to repay the stipend money he had earned.
“That’s something the exec felt was needed,” Axelrod said. “Jerome was really receptive to that. He admitted he had messed up.” Roberts submitted his resignation April 10.
Roberts said he also spoke with Axelrod about the trip to Washington, D.C., with the United States Student Association. The trip was also funded in part with the incidental fee.
Roberts said that in the meeting, Axelrod said he was comfortable with the contributions Roberts had made to the USSA and with Roberts having gone on the trip, even though he was not a University student. Roberts said he left the University because he changed his major and went to LCC to re-do some of his undergraduate work. He was able to continue working at the Student Recreation Center and did not consider the fact that he would have to be a University student to continue working in the ASUO.
“It didn’t occur to me to think, ‘hey you’re not paying the I-fee any more, so you’re not eligible,’” he said. “The last thing on my mind was con court when I switched schools.”
Roberts, who was confirmed to the court in spring 2006, said he plans to come back to the University in the fall and would like to once again hold a seat on the court.
“I think he would be eligible to hold any position. If he is a student and he is paying the incidental fee, he is eligible to run for any elected or appointed position,” Axelrod said.
Although Roberts resigned April 10, the vacancy has yet to be filled. Axelrod, who is responsible for appointing new justices, said he conducted interviews April 18 and has offered someone the position.
The new justice, along with a replacement for Justice Nick Klingensmith, who recently graduated from law school, will likely be confirmed at Wednesday’s Student Senate meeting, Axelrod said.
He said the process of finding a replacement for Roberts took longer than normal because he resigned in the middle of the ASUO elections. Axelrod said he also wanted to find a time for President-elect Emily McLain and Vice President-elect Chii-San SunOwen to be involved in hiring a new justice, but they were not able to be involved.
Although the ASUO does periodically check the status of all students receiving stipends, the process is very time-consuming and can only be done during breaks when the staff has extra time, Wigen said.
“I think we’re going to be looking toward a better solution to how we can work around that,” she said.
The ASUO is looking into acquiring software that would make it easier to look up student status, Wigen said.
Wigen said the ASUO staff also expects that people who apply for positions within the ASUO will respect the student government and its rules. Axelrod agreed.
“Individuals need to take it upon themselves to be honest and truthful about their enrollment status and about how they’re collecting the incidental fee,” he said.
Chief Justice Matt Greene is responsible for ensuring payment of stipends to other court members, according the court rules and procedures.
Greene said he was unaware that Roberts was no longer a student during winter term and said he does not have the power or ability to check on the enrollment status of other justices. Anyone may call the Registrar’s Office to ask if a student is currently enrolled.
Although Greene could not recall whether Roberts had participated in any rulings when he was not a student, he said only three members are required to make a ruling and Roberts would have been the fourth member on any decision he participated in.
Roberts also said he did not recall participating in any of the decisions made winter term. He recused himself from rulings regarding the rec center, where he works, and a ruling regarding the USSA trip.
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