Colette Gallacher / Copy Editor

Jason Cunningham / Entertainment Editor

Recent disputes within the Student Government Association regarding Senator and finance committee chair Christina Liudvinaitis’ $1,000 stipend have still not been resolved.

Regarding what her exact role is, whether she has performed treasurer responsibilities correctly and how much she should be awarded, the Senate still remains divided. 

The SGA meeting on April 1 proved to be highly charged with much of the meeting centering on the issue of Liudvinaitis’ stipend.

Two senators expressed wishes that $100 of their stipends would be issued to Liudvinaitis if she was not rewarded with the full $1000.

Another senator put forth a motion that SGA pay $600 as compensation to Liudvinaitis, while also issuing her the $400, which every senator is eligible for, depending on their SGA commitment throughout the semester.  

“The plan of action depends on who you talk to. Some want to give her partial compensation instead of her stipend. As a senator she’s eligible for $400, as treasurer she’s eligible for $1,000,” said SGA President Alexander Estrom.

He said that he and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Laura Tordenti are closely going through the Senate minutes in hopes to accomplish a good understanding of Liudvinaitis’ role and responsibilities in the Senate.

They’d also like to find out what she believed she was being paid for her work. 

“Based on the recommendation and the grounds that she had been given, she can’t technically be on the finance committee, she wasn’t elected as a treasurer. She was elected as the chair of the finance committee and then it turned into intern, now it’s treasurer,’ said Sen. Milan Rasheed Taylor.

Sources within the SGA have also made the claim that Liudvinaitis wasn’t fulfilling her responsibilities as the finance chairperson.

They said that she was unable to provide them with an accurate account balance to allocate funds. An assessment of the accounts is a factor in order to appropriate money to club budgets. 

“I’ve treated her no differently than the past three treasurers. I truly believe the Senate as a whole asked her to fulfill the responsibilities of treasurer. We even called her treasurer during meetings with no objection from the Senate. I don’t ever recall anyone rejecting her title while holding the position.”

The other arguments against Liudvinaitis receiving the full $1,000 for her duties this semester include the fact that she is a part-time student and does not pay activity fees herself,  and has not fully completed the responsibilities of an SGA treasurer.

“I don’t want to see her to step down, but in the case that she did step down, I’m fully confident in my constituents to allocate money to the clubs successfully,” Taylor said.

“We’re pretty well versed in allocating money; the senate isn’t going to fall apart. Not to put her down, she’s a nice person to have around, but I’m confident we could go on without her as of now.”

The debate over the finance chair and treasurer stipend and responsibilities has also sparked a discussion about loopholes in the Senate’s constitution.

“Yes there are loopholes in our constitution and right now we actually forming an ad hoc committee, or a separate committee to just evaluate, pretty much, the loopholes and problems and holes in our constitution,” Taylor said.

Although the Senate has not yet approved the minutes from almost two weeks ago and is still split over the final decision of the total of Liudvinaitis’ stipend, it is hoped that a conclusion will be reached at the next SGA meeting on April 8 at 3:30 p.m.