Blackberries and quesadillas were the topic of a heated debate Sunday at a Student Government finance committee meeting. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Donald Hodge charged that some members were “stealing” from student fees by “misusing” SG Blackberries. Student Senate Speaker Evan Bergeron explained overage charges on the cell phone he was given to conduct SG business saying the additional phone calls were of a professional nature. He also told members he paid for all charges he made. Bergeron made phone calls and sent text messages which were not covered under SG’s contract with Cingular. He said no one explained to him the features were not part of the contract. Only data or e-mail exchanges could be made without incurring additional charges. SG members approved the purchase of the Blackberries in 2005 by former SG President Michelle Gieg. Current SG President Chris Odinet and the current Student Senate decided to stop using the devices. Odinet has sold the phones. The calls in question occurred between April 18 and July 11 and increased the phone bill from $49.99 to $73.25. At the meeting Sunday, in which four of seven members of the committee attended, including two who were substitutes, Hodge questioned Bergeron about specific calls and messages sent late in the evening on July 4 to family members. Bergeron said the calls were all made for SG purposes, ranging from gathering donations for a retreat for senate members to the failed impeachment of an SG member in December 2005. Hodge led the questioning of Bergeron about the difference between personal and business calls, as well as text messages and e-mails. Bergeron said as soon as he received phone calls from family members he hung up and returned the call on his personal cell phone. Hodge questioned why Bergeron continued to use the Blackberry after the end of the fiscal year’s budget, July 1. Bergeron responded that he assumed when the money ran out, so would the device. He said he never knew the additional charges were being accumulated. Bergeron said he was never told the specifics of the contract, but once he discovered he was incurring extra charges, he reimbursed the cost. “It’s disappointing because there are so many SG people doing good things,” Hodge said. He added that he thinks inappropriate behavior is hurting the reputation of SG. Bergeron said he hopes that SG can soon move on, and focus on more important issues, such as the Freshman Residency Requirement and parking issues on campus. “My whole thing is that I paid it back, and I did what I thought was right,” Bergeron said. “I was given no explanation of what services I was supposed to use, for this to be an ethics violation, I think I would have had to maliciously done something wrong.” Former SG Executive Assistant Crawford Leavoy also made phone calls not included in the contract and resigned from his position late this summer. Leavoy told The Daily Reveille in July he resigned to avoid creating negative publicity for SG. Hodge filed a Code of Student Conduct Complaint with the Dean of Students Office against Bergeron for allegedly lying about the use of his Blackberry. SG members also debated the purchase of $1,243.87 worth of catered food to feed Senate members for two meetings this past spring. Hodge said he tallied the numbers and the Senate went $142.87 over budget for the food, but also said SG had legislative money to help cover the difference. Hodge accused Bergeron of approving the purchase without fully researching whether they had enough money to cover the expense. “I was told that everything was in line by Sen. [Heath] Hattaway,” Bergeron said. “I was told there was enough money in the account.” The committee agreed to further investigate the Blackberries, including obtaining Bergeron’s personal cell phone records. Its findings will be brought in front of the Senate on Wednesday night.
—–Contact Elizabeth Miller at [email protected]