By Adrian Morrow
Associate News Editor
Several student leaders have openly accused Ryerson Students’ Union President Nora Loreto of stealing $860 from the RSU.
The money was sent to the Canadian Federation of Students to pay for Loreto to attend the federation’s national conference this past spring.
However, in a statement to the board of directors yesterday, Loreto provided the paper work to prove she had paid back the fees all in full in response to pressure by the union’s executive committee.
“I continue to believe that as a struggling student with a limited income, the imposition of this penalty is harsh and unprecendented,” Loreto said.
Loreto was originally scheduled to attend the conference, but VP Education Heather Kere cancelled her registration. While Kere filed the paperwork for the RSU to pay the $860 fees for herself and six other RSU members to attend the conference, Loreto filed her own paperwork. The money went through to the CFS.
“She went behind my back and authorized her own money,” said Kere.
She and VP Student Life and Events Abe Snobar didn’t know Loreto was even going to attend the conference until she showed up there. She made her own way rather than travel with the rest of the Ryerson delegation.
“The fact that she snuck in shows that she knew she wasn’t supposed to be there,” Snobar said.
When she returned from the conference, the RSU passed a motion requiring Loreto repay the money.
“Abe missed 70 per cent of the conference, Heather missed 50 per cent of the conference,” Loreto said. She pointed out that there’s no precedent for making executives repay money that had been spent on school functions.
The argument escalated Thursday when Kere asked for documentation that Loreto was repaying the RSU.
“Do you want to see my bank records?” Loreto asked Kere. “Do you want my PIN number as well?”
“You already stole from the RSU,” said Kere.
Two other executive committee members made the same accusation.
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