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CAMPUS CENTRE MEMBERS MAY SUE OVER LETTER

By Amy Sharaf

RyeSAC’s president-elect said she fears legal action from members of the Student Campus Centre Committee after she wrote an allegedly inaccurate and inflammatory letter.

The message, which was drafted by Rebecca Rose and addressed to SCC committee members, accused RyeSAC’s former general manager Rob Emerson of conflict of interest.

It also charged several RyeSAC executives and board members of making decisions without student union input. RyeSAC’s vice president of finance Derek Isber is worried the note has “sullied (his) reputation.”

The letter stated: “At no time has RyeSAC authorized its representatives on the Student Campus Centre Committee to make decisions that reduce the revenue, programming or service provided to our members,” read the letter.

Former RyeSAC general manager Rob Emerson was accused of being in conflict of interest because he was hired by the SCC to run the new building. Emerson said he thought carefully of how to handle the situation, and removed himself from all committee activities.

A week after Rose’s letter was sent, the RyeSAC executive meeting brought up threats of legal action against her. “This is a tactic to intimidate me from speaking out and for asking questions,” said Rose of the threats. “Legal action has been hung over my head… to scare me into apologizing.”

Ron Stagg, who sits on the committee, said that Rose made a mistake by making the letter public before asking committee members for the information directly. But Rose insists that she wrote the letter to get the information she was looking for. “I have nothing to apologize for,” she said.

Stagg defended Emerson by saying the SCC followed hiring procedure and that Emerson has no voting power. “He withdrew from the committee before he applied for the position,” Stagg said, adding that RyeSAC reps on the committee had no input during the interview process.

Individuals named in Rose’s letter would not say whether they would definitely be pushing through with any legal action.

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