The Student Association meeting scheduled for Dec. 5 was cancelled because items were absent on the agenda said President Scott Cunha, also saying the meeting was cancelled because he had a 102 degree temperature.

Inter-Club Council held an executive meeting Dec. 7 chaired by ICC Outreach officer Khoren Hakobian and Simon Levison. The purpose of the meeting was to address the problem that S.A. and ICC representatives don't get along and that they needed discuss rules for the upcoming semester.

Several dismayed students requested the meeting because of the   "ongoing battle between individuals and the two organizations" requested the meeting, asking Levison and Hakobian to intervene. These students reportedly felt that rivalry was interfering with taking care of business.

"We don't want to talk about the problems because we already all know what the problems are. We are trying to offer solutions," Hakobian said in an interview.

"Our priorities are messed up, we spend too much time fighting and arguing over petty things, like popcorn machines and not enough time writing the bills," Cunha said in an earlier interview.

"When they write these bills, yes it is a good idea, but where are they going to store them, because we've had them before and they've gotten stolen," he added.

ICC President Nancy Djuiba said later in an interview, "what is so upsetting to me, is how many people were prepared for the meeting, and how important these issues were to many students, but the meeting was cancelled due to questionable circumstances."

Djuiba said she felt parliamentary procedure and rules got in the way of students and clubs getting their needs met, used as an excuse to deny clubs money, adding that they also

prevented the ICC from conducting business.

Hakobian expressed that rules were important - because rules have to be acknowledged and followed in order to be legitimate. If they are not followed, SA and ICC Advisor Phil Sanders and SA President Scott Cunha can be held accountable.

While they are accountable for laws being followed, the SA President has been absent from several meetings - which delays things.

However, according to Hakobian, "the meeting could have still taken place because the items can be added with consent of council."

President David Viar was at the meeting and talked about how procedure can get in the way of getting things done, and how he very much appreciated the ICC executive meeting to start next semester fresh.

Djuiba said the ICC was there to represent the students. SA and ICC advisor Phil Sanders said ICC was there to represent the clubs and that representing the students was not the purpose of ICC. He said the official government and official voice of the students was the Student Association rather than the ICC.

"But there's what they stand for and what they should stand for," said Levison.

"ICC had the courage to say we need to get these things straight and initiate a meeting to resolve conflict between two organizations," adding that many SA members were absent from the meeting.

A few weeks ago Alex Rossiter, the founder of the MESA Project (Mathematics, Engineering, Science and Achievement) asked for $15,835 for the MESA project to help get money for tutoring K-12 students. Governor Schwarzenegger abandoned the funding for the project and SA representative Simon Levison introduced the bill "because the MESA project helps K-12 from low-income families and brings them

into contact with low-income families.

Because the Dec. 5 SA meeting was cancelled, the MESA project missed the timeline and will not be able to be implemented, Rossiter was still looking for loopholes and Levison still introduced the bill in the event Rossiter found one.

The question of whether student representation fees could be used was addressed and the means by which five members voted against the bill and it was rejected.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of the meeting yesterday, an ARC jazz ensemble requested $2,000 from the general Student Association fund and while the bill has yet to be written, it was widely supported by Student Trustee Barbara Hamlett who wanted to swiftly help them accomplish their goals.

Martinson pointed out a double standard in that while he supported the jazz ensemble, he questioned why there was such widespread support from the council in regards to the jazz ensemble, but there was not the same support for the MESA project and AMSA.

"I have to ask why the jazz ensemble very quickly received funding for their conference but MESA was not offered the opportunity to scale down their funding. No one informed or offered us the opportunity to use or ask for any other source of funding, which would have allowed us to use the same funds offered to the jazz ensemble so that the MESA project could go forward."

He expressed he was unhappy that his time and the time of other people involved in the MESA project was wasted, it imposed the question of why the administration and the SA was not more forthcoming with the information on the use of student representation fees. He explained that he could have been using the time wasted with SA to find other sources of support and funding.

"It seemed that delay and deceptive tactics were used," said Rossiter.