The MultiCultural Student Coalition and the Student Services Finance Committee experienced some tension over the course of the semester.
MCSC brought a suit against SSFC to the Student Judiciary in October, charging a budget waiver SSFC implemented earlier in the year was given with too short of notice and violated due process.
SJ ruled in favor of MCSC regarding the waiver in an opinion that affirmed the due process aspect but upheld SSFC standing rules and Chair Sarah Neibart’s decision to deny the group its waiver.
On Oct. 20, MCSC was denied General Student Services Funds eligibility in a vote of 5-7-0, with SSFC members divided in their stances on the group’s amount of direct service production.
Five days later, MCSC members Rebecca Pons and Nneka Akubeze appealed to SSFC, urging the committee to reconsider its ruling on the basis that numbers used in calculating the percentage of direct services were inaccurate.
When the appeal was denied, MCSC took its case to SJ. On Nov. 15, the group appealed SSFC’s original decision to deny funding to SJ, arguing SSFC violated viewpoint neutrality through unstandardized eligibility criteria evaluation, misconduct and that SSFC may not be co-equal in nature.
Ultimately, SJ upheld the denial of funds and dismissed all three counts in a Dec. 1 decision. MCSC will remain unfunded by SSFC for the next fiscal year.
