S.C.C. Trip Raises Questions
Hundreds attend council meeting
Brian Shultz and Danielle Tepper
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: News
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Danielle Tepper, A&E Editor, dtepper@lhup.edu
November 18, 2009 brought hundreds of angry LHU students to the Parson's Union
Building (PUB) at 6 p.m. Within half an hour, room 2 was standing-room only, and
the mob stretched to the lobby and the parking lot outside. These students were
all gathered for one common goal: to witness the Senate meeting, which was to
address the allegations of the misuse of funds against the S.C.C. Executive Board.
An hour into the meeting, the S.C.C. introduced open forum.
Senate members immediately began to question the Executive Board members about a recent trip to Calif. during which they were supposed to attend a leadership conference.
The National Conference on Student Leadership was hosted October 22-25 in Los
Angeles, Calif. Seven members of the Executive Board - Chris Lunden (President),
Brent Frederick (Vice President), Zack Davis (Treasurer), Clayton Snyder,
Brittany Graham, Michelle Lawrence, and Christina Veppustek - as well as Matt
Wise (Assistant Director of Student Activities) and Brad Dally (Director of the
Student Recreation Center) traveled to Calif., but did not, in fact, register
for, nor attend this conference.
Lunden acknowledged the fact that they did not attend the conference and
publicly apologized to the crowd at last night's meeting. Matt Wise, the trip's
advisor, stated he was "advised not to comment on the situation."
The accusations stem from a letter written by Jeffrey Ward, North Hall RA, as
well as Campus Food Service Liaison Clayton Snyder's testimony that the S.C.C.
had no intentions of attending the conference. Snyder testified, "Chris Lunden
stated that we were not going on the conference, and that we never planned on
going to the conference."
The letter's conclusion demands the resignation of all Executive Board members
who had prior knowledge of the intention to skip the conference, as well as any
advisors who approved the trip. It went on to state that the group would
petition for grounds of impeachment for the elected officials who refused to
resign. Snyder's testimony also revealed the exact details of their trip.
Upon arrival in L.A., the students were given $275 cash for food, and they also
purchased rental cars. They upgraded from two Honda Civics to a Hummer H3 and a
Chevrolet Tahoe for an additional fee of ten dollars per vehicle per day. Lunden
was questioned as to why they opted to purchase larger and more expensive cars,
and he responded, "We wanted to be comfortable." He defends the money they spent
by saying that they came from the S.C.C.'s special account.
During their time in L.A., Snyder states that they toured Hollywood on Thursday,
Oct. 22. Friday, they toured UCLA's recreational facilities to research ideas
for the PUB's upcoming renovations. Following that tour, they went to Santa
Monica to enjoy the beach. Saturday, they spent the day at Universal Studios.
The group never attended any part of the conference, and when they walked by the
conference facilities, Lunden commented that the conference attendees looked
like they were having "fun."
On Friday, Nov. 13, Lunden stated that they did not attend the conference
because online registration did not work and their credit cards could not be
charged without cardholder Jodi Smith being in the state with them. He then said
at last night's meeting that they were unable to register online because they
missed the deadline.
Conference Director Susan Horn had no contact with any S.C.C. representative on
the matter. In an e-mail, Horn stated, "All attendees who registered online were
able to do so without a problem. No one reported a problem when they attempted
to register. We never turn anyone away from the conference when they register
on-site. We accept credit cards and purchase orders. The credit card payments
are processed after the conference is over, when we are back in the office in
Wisconsin ... We had no one approach registration and ask to register on-site."
S.C.C. advisors and professional personnel were also questioned during the
meeting about how the trip was approved, and who had to authorize it. Jodi
Smith, Director of Student Activities, stated, "The S.C.C. is the governing
board" in charge of approving trips.
Senior Don Palesky responded, "If you try to pull this stuff in the real world,
you're fired."
Senator Ryan Hemm motioned for a call to impeach Lunden, Frederick, and Davis,
which generated more discussion among fellow Senate members.
Vice President of Student Affairs Linda Koch said, "There is a process, let's
follow the process," referring to the first step of impeachment, which is a
hearing in the Weighs and Means committee.
Some Executive Board members denied having prior knowledge, but that did not
satisfy the crowd of indignant students. "Even if some members didn't know,
there is still no excuse to go with the flow," said Dominique Simons, a senior
majoring in Health Science.
In an e-mail addressed to Senate members, Christina Veppustek defended their
absence from the conference by saying, "Although we didn't attend the actual
conference itself, we were able to get to know each other better - which I feel
is the major thing that will help us function as a group."
"Eight to ten thousand dollars is hardly justifiable for a staff bonding trip,"
political science senior Zach Smith said.
Upon further student criticism, club advisor Judy Elliot came to the S.C.C.'s
defense, saying that, as an advisor, she was aware of the trip in September. She
explained that the members trying to attend the conference had scheduling
conflicts, after being asked why advanced registration was not completed. She
then quickly steered the conversation to the current Stevenson Library issue.
Lunden, when later questioned about punishments and sanctions on the
organization by Senator Megan Mittal, declined to comment on anything further
regarding the matter. Davis was also unable to provide expense reports when
questioned.
The Senate motioned for a ten-minute recess, after which they agreed to schedule
an additional meeting to discuss the library and petition the impeachment to a
Weighs and Means hearing. The meeting, a full three and a half hours after its
beginning, was then unanimously adjourned.
"The S.C.C. has done great things, but that doesn't excuse their behavior," said
Zach Smith.
"I want to know why he [Lunden] lied in the first place," said senator Josh
Peacock. Lunden simply replied, "Once again, I apologize."