Clubs inactive pending appeals

Curits Grima

The Interfraternity Council, the governing body over Sacramento State fraternities, has become inactive because of failure to complete on time the student organization registration process required by Student Activities. The IFC has until Nov. 15 to appeal Student Activities, which will then review and consider IFC’s inactivity.

IFC, along with about 100 other clubs, was suspended Oct. 1 for not submitting registration requirements before the Sept. 30 deadline. The extended deadline to appeal suspension was also missed on Oct. 15, placing IFC and 40 other clubs on inactive status.

According to the Student Organization Registration Process form in the Student Activities Office, inactive organizations lose existing funding and cannot apply for Dollars for Organizations and Clubs through Associated Students. According to the form, all room reservations will also be cancelled and no new reservations for any room may be requested. Student Activities Director Lou Camera said the president of any organization is the primary contact for coordinating with Student Activities.

“Our communication goes directly to the president of the club, so it is the president that is ultimately responsible. Obligations may be assigned to officers within an organization, but a president must always confirm,” Camera said.

IFC President Brandon Kline said IFC is active and blames Student Activities for communication errors that have caused the organization to become inactive.

“IFC is not inactive; we turned all of the paperwork in. We met our obligations and are waiting for Lou Camera and everyone else to approve our late registration,” Kline said.

The last official IFC meeting took place on Sept. 29. Kline said IFC last met unofficially on Oct. 27 in the Fireside Lounge in the University Union.

Vice President of University Affairs and Panhellenic President Colleen Ripchick said IFC can still partially function without legally being recognized by Sac State.

“Informal communication still occurs although no official meetings can take place,” Ripchick said. “However, IFC has no official vote with decision making if anything important were to come up.”

As Panhellenic president, Ripchick said it would be difficult for any governing body to not conduct an official meeting in over a month.

“To postpone so much business, it would have a negative effect on everything. Plans for November and December would have to shift backwards and meetings would be a three hour long catch up,” Ripchick said.

Kline said IFC should not be required to go through the same registration process as other clubs.

“IFC is not a club, it is a governing organization that works closely with Student Activities. The registration process is simply pushing paperwork and it really doesn’t make a difference,” Kline said.

Any organization that is appealing the deadline for late registration must complete all registration requirements. In addition, these groups must submit a letter to the Student Activities Adviser addressing why the deadline was missed, why the group needs recognition and how the group will ensure the deadline is not missed in the future.

After the appeal is made, the Student Activities staff will consider it for review, which is a process that takes at least three weeks. Within a two-year period, groups are allowed to appeal to the missed deadline only once.

Camera did not divulge any other information regarding other clubs that are also inactive due to failure to comply with the registration process.

“It is not appropriate for us to identify organizations in various stages of the process,” said Heather Dunn-Carlton, assistant director of Student Activities. “We work hard with organizations to re-new registration however there is a deadline.”