Drew Christensen 952-210-2769 drew.s.christensen@gmail.

com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013 ***NEWS RELEASE***

**U of M Student Government Defying Own Constitution in Shutdown**

During the student government shutdown, the Minnesota Student Association (MSA) Executive Board has operated in an unconstitutional manner over the objections of students Minneapolis, Minnesota On Tuesday, September 24th, 2013, the University of Minnesota Student Government (MSA) failed to pass a budget for the 2013-2014 school year during its biweekly Forum. This resulted in a student government shutdown. In such a case, the MSA Executive Board is authorized by Title X, Section I of the MSA Bylaws to approve a temporary operational budget to pay rent, stipends, etc. In direct violation of this clause, the MSA Executive Board appropriated $5,000 for the Grants Committee to distribute to student groups and $5,000 for an event partnership with the Minnesota International Student Association (MISA). In the MSA budget request from the Student Service Fees Committee for the 2014-2014 school year, both of these items are clearly placed under programming expenses. Multiple members of the MSA Forum repeatedly questioned the constitutionality of these appropriations. This culminated in a formal complaint (per Title I, Section 6 of the MSA Bylaws) on Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 informing the MSA Executive Board and the University of Minnesota of the unconstitutional behavior of the Executive Board. This formal complaint demanded that the funding for the Grants Committee and the MISA event be immediately frozen due to its unconstitutional nature. The MSA Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer were courtesy copied so that they could cease issuing checks immediately. There has been no response to date. This unconstitutional action by the MSA Executive Board shows their blatant disregard for both the will of the students via their representatives in Forum as well as for their own constitution, said Drew Christensen, the Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow Representative to MSA. Whats the point of even having a Forum if the Executive Board can overrule it and do what it pleases? Student government must follow the constitution in order to operate fairly and in the best interests of students, said MSA At-Large Representative, Elizabeth Hazecamp. MSA Constitution: http://msa.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/MSA-Constitution.pdf MSA Bylaws: http://msa.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MSA-Bylaws-7-17-13.pdf MSA 2013-2014 Student Service Fee Request: http://www.studentservicesfees.umn.edu/requests.html For more information or an interview, please contact Drew Christensen at 952-210-2769 or drew.s.christensen@gmail.com. ###