About 10 Student Association staff members were "let go" at the beginning of the semester after Student Life ruled them academically ineligible, according to SA Treasurer Siddhant Chhabria. SA chose not to release the exact number.
Chhabria said SA had to fire the staff members due to the rules and it wasn't personal.
"Constitutionally, SA is bounded by the academic eligibility," Chhabria said. "SA was following the guidelines it was supposed to."
UB's Student Code of Conduct states that students must abide by all university regulations (article 7, section B) to remain in an on-campus organization. It also states that only currently registered students are eligible for active membership in student organizations, including government. Those students appointed or elected must be in "good academic standing."
UB's Academic Review policy states that to be academically eligible, SA staff members must have a GPA above 2.0 - both cumulatively and in the previous semester. They must also be enrolled in classes full-time.
Student Life informed the e-board of the staff members who were academically ineligible. The e-board does not know the members' grades or the reason they are no longer eligible for SA employment, but simply that each former employee had failed to meet the university's conditions for employment.
"The people who no longer work for us couldn't work for us because they were no longer eligible per university policy," said SA President Sam McMahon.
Student Life carries out its "academic review" at the end of each fall and spring semester.
Chhabria said SA filled some of vacant positions left after the firings, but the e-board chose to eliminate some positions altogether. The stipends of the unfilled positions were absorbed back into the SA budget.
email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
