The Kiva Club missed the deadline for its ASUNM budget request for the 2013 fiscal year by 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
Isaac Romero, finance chair of ASUNM, said the request would not be accepted. He said the law book clearly states that any budget request turned in past the 5 p.m. deadline would not be accepted.
President of the Kiva Club Makhpiya Black Elk said the last submission was due to an Internet failure. He asked ASUNM at the Wednesday meeting to look past his mistake and to not punish his club for the error.
“I take full responsibility for the mistake, but don’t let this mistake affect future generations of the Kiva Club,” Black Elk said.
ASUNM funds chartered student organizations with undergraduates members who request funding. ASUNM does not fund graduate student organizations or non-student organizations, like the Student Fee Review Board does.
The American Society of Civil Engineers and Africana Leadership Opportunity Team also turned in their budget requests late.
Article II, Section 4C of the ASUNM budget code requires that completed budget requests be submitted by 5 p.m. on Wednesday of the fourth week of the spring semester. Section 4D states:
“Incomplete budget requests or those turned in after the deadline will not be accepted. This will result in the group being dropped from the semester’s budget process.”
Any organization that failed to meet the deadline was sent an email at 5 p.m. saying it could petition its case at the 6 p.m. meeting.
Romero said the senators would deliberate at a later time to find a solution.
“After hearing everything you have to say, I will discuss this with the vice president and email all the groups with what we have decided and I will continue to hear input from all of the senators,” Romero said.
Adrian Cortinas, vice president of ASUNM, said it is regrettable that so many student groups failed to turn in their budget requests on time, but the law book clearly states the rules.
“Deadlines are deadlines, and it is stated in our law book that 30 seconds late or 30 minutes late count as late,” he said. “You have a whole lot of time from the workshops to turn in your stuff. It’s unfortunate. It happens.”
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The meeting was not on the ASUNM website, but Cortinas said the website is still under maintenance. In October 2011, Jaymie Roybal said one of her short-term goals was to get the website up and running. She said she hired University Web Communication Services to re-design the site.
“It has been addressed,” he said. “The website is still a work in progress, and President Roybal just hired a new director, and she has been in the office all day working on it.”
The meeting was held without Roybal, who was at the Student Fee Review Board deliberations.
Cortinas said the weekly meeting had to go on, even without her presence.
