Student Activities suspended AU's chapter of the College Democrats last Thursday for failing to adequately deposit and keep track of money earned through fund raising last semester, according to College Democrats president Matt Kent.
According to Kent, Student Activities Director Karen Gerlach told the College Democrats they will not receive their $1,750 second-semester allocation of AU Club Council funds, but Kent said they will still function as a club.
"We fully understand their decision," Kent said. "We feel it was reached in part because before we failed to provide a complete account of our first semester finances."
Student Activities Director Karen Gerlach declined to comment, and said in an e-mail that "as is the case for any situation involving a club, things are addressed with specific club leaders only."
Kent, a junior in the School of Public Affairs who was elected president on Dec. 5, said suspicion about the club's finances was initially raised when College Democrats Treasurer Scott Wener went to Student Activities at the end of the fall semester and tried to deposit $350 of his own money.
Wener, a sophomore in SPA, resigned from his post last night.
All clubs that receive AUCC funding - which comes directly from Student Activity fees paid by each AU student - are entitled to half their allocated funds in the fall, which for the College Democrats meant $1,750 from a total $3,500 for the year. Clubs are also required to raise 10 percent of their yearly allocation through independent fund raising, according to AUCC Vice Chair Josh Goodman, and must deposit that 10 percent in their Student Activities account by the end of the fall semester in order to receive the second half of their funds in the spring.
Clubs also must keep documentation of all financial transactions in order to receive their second fund disbursement. Deposit records are necessary to prove the club has met their fundraising responsibilities, Goodman said. Because the College Democrats did not have any deposit records, it looked like they hadn't done any fundraising, he said.
"It's unfortunate, but it was a paperwork issue," Goodman said.
Kent said over the summer the College Democrats raised "hundreds of dollars" selling T-shirts. In accordance with Student Activities guidelines that dictate how clubs must manage their funds, that money should have been deposited into their Student Activities account.
Wener received the fundraising money at the beginning of fall semester, but said he kept the money safe in his room and made sure it was not used for purposes unrelated to College Democrats activities.
"There has never been any accusation that the money was misspent," Wener said. "I've been accused of breaking rules but nothing unethical."
Wener said he deposited the money in December when he realized he needed to do so to get the club's spring money.
"In my mind, it came down to the decision of paying $350 out of pocket or not getting the $1,750 semester allotment," he said.
On Jan. 24, Kimberly Herrera, the College Democrats' program advisor in Student Activities, sent an e-mail to the club's executive board, saying she needed to meet with them and notifying them of the club's suspension, Kent said. After meeting with Herrera on Thursday, the executive board submitted its financial report on Friday and was notified yesterday it would not receive the rest of its AUCC funding.
The club is currently "accounting for all finances from last semester" to see what money was spent, Kent said, adding that checking receipts and expenditures is a laborious process at this point because of the number of events and different people who have handled money.
"It's just frustrating not being able to do things the College Democrats are supposed to do," Kent said. "We're stuck in the mud trying to get all of this resolved."
Kent said he wants to resolve the paperwork discrepancy so the club can resume its normal activities. Currently, the College Democrats' Feb. 6 meeting is being postponed.
"If anything, I'm frustrated because there's so much I want to do," Kent said. "We have speakers we can't confirm with dates. I can't coordinate campaign events in Virginia."
According to Kent, one factor that led to the discrepancy was the club's revolving leadership so far this academic year and a subsequent lack of good record-keeping.
Lisa Petak, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, was originally elected College Democrats president. She headed the T-shirt fundraising over half the summer before resigning and being replaced by then-Vice President Clare Allenson, a sophomore in the School of International Service.
Although Allenson took the helm, she - and no other executive board member who could deposit the money properly - was in D.C. for the summer, so the job of fund raising and collecting the money was left to various members, rather than one central executive board member, according to Kent.
"We don't have a precise record of all financial dealings from last semester," Kent said.
The first few weeks of the fall 2006 semester were spent compiling the money because it was in various members' hands, Kent said. He did not specify how much money was raised over the summer, but said it was "hundreds of dollars."
Wener was then responsible for making sure the funds were deposited into the club's account and that members were reimbursed for expenses, according to Kent.
According to the club's outreach director, John Cipriani, Allenson and the other officers asked Wener several times about the money throughout the fall semester, and directed him to deposit it.
"All of us were under the impression that this money was deposited and in a safe place," Cipriani said. "None of us thought Scott having pocket money was a good idea. None of us condone that option. None of us knew he had the money."
Miriam Callahan, College Democrats' vice president, also said she assumed Wener had deposited the money as part of his responsibilities as treasurer. She said she and Cipriani had no way of knowing the money had not been deposited.
"When you ask a member of a club to do something, it's their job and you assume they do it," she said.
Cipriani said he is upset with the situation.
"Considering that we were lied to about this and the fact that everyone knew before this happened [that] you should never hold on to cash ... it's upsetting, shocking," Cipriani said.
Wener said it was never his intention to mislead the organization.
"A lot of this came from inexperience and lack of communication," he said. "And through this whole time I did try to do what was best for the members of the club."
To help overcome the suspension, the entire executive board will attend the Student Activities 101 Workshop and the Financial Workshop, Kent said. Normally only the president and treasurer attend these workshops.
The club's executive board structure will also be changed to allow all officers to have signing power and access to group financial records, Cipriani said.
Callahan called the extension of signing power a safeguard against future financial discrepancies.
Cipriani said that while the club is under suspension, the executive board will continue to operate.
"Just because club status has been suspended doesn't mean we've stopped working whatsoever," he said.
"We're still a club; we're going to be a club with half as much money," Kent said.
