ABTS Delegates Should be Held Accountable for Questionable Actions

Recently, the Michigan Student Assembly delegation to the Association of Big Ten Schools Conference (ABTS) came under scrutiny for a laundry list of mischief conducted on University time. This mischief includes, but is not exclusive to: skipping planned events to send mass e-mails, consuming alcohol during the conference and damaging two rental vans.

These actions are deplorable on several levels. First, the MSA is a representative body of the University of Michigan. As such, it is the responsibility of the delegates to reflect a positive image of the U-M. Drinking and carrying on is clearly not positive. Second, no members of the MSA delegation sent to the conference were of legal drinking age. As such, they not only participated in inappropriate actions, but they also broke the law. It is even more audacious that the Vice President, Jessica Cash, can openly admit to violating Minor In Possession (MIP) laws.

The members of MSA are continually attempting to justify their positions of relative influence, though they counter this justification through their actions by failing to attend mandatory events (a la the DAAP election debacle last year), and by neglecting their required duties in favor of miscreant behavior. The continuing message during the MSA elections is that the Assembly should be taken seriously. Yet in passing meaningless resolutions, failing to accurately express the opinions of the student body and turning official U-M business into a drinking party, the Executive Board is smearing the image of the Assembly and this University.

This issue also raises the question of whether the University should spend student fees to sponsor trips under the guise of “education.” As it stands, no University student group may use student funds to finance travel, except of course, the Assembly. Are student funds going to be used to pay for the damage caused to the vans by overzealous Assembly members? The University allotted approximately $2,000 for this planned activity, which is much more than most student groups receive for the year. That is $2,000 that the MSA could spend on LGBT Socials, Planned Parenthood Plays, and funding the “new civil rights movement in defense of affirmative action.”

This money was used to rent vans which were used irresponsibly, to travel to a conference that was not even wholly attended by the participants and to rent hotel rooms that were allegedly used to facilitate underage drinking. Student fees are meant to help facilitate student groups, not help send a select few of the political elite on vacation. If the MSA wants to take a luxurious trip under the guise of goodwill, they should sign up for Alternative Spring Break, not use mandatory student fees that could be used elsewhere.

While those who did not drink and actually attended mandatory events should not be held accountable, those who participated in these actions should be held accountable. Matt Nolan, Jessica Cash and the others who participated in the questionable actions during the ABTS conference should apologize formally for their actions and implement a clear-cut plan to avoid this kind of ruckus in the future. MR