This past week, the Student Union considered the possibility of impeaching current Treasurer Sunny Aidasani '14 based on an alleged failure to communicate with other members of the Union and complete basic aspects of his position. Ultimately, the Union decided to delay action until the situation can be further evaluated.

Executive Senator Annie Chen '14 sent an email to the current senators on Friday explaining the situation and calling for an emergency meeting that was set to take place on Sunday.
"I am emailing regarding ... the question of whether there is sufficient grounds and necessary need for the impeachment of our current Treasurer, Sunny Aidasani," Chen wrote in the email.

Aidasani and other executive board members were to give their own accounts of the situation prior to making any decisions. "Impeachment is a weighty action, and as such, I urge you to thoroughly evaluate whether it is imperative as you consider your vote," Chen wrote.

Although Chen explained in an interview with the Justice that she was not directly involved or aware of the issue based upon her experiences with Aidasani, she was approached by other members of the Executive Board who asked to go forward with impeachment proceedings. "To be honest, I don't know that much about it. I was actually going to hear a lot about it at the meeting too and that's where I would have decided whether or not I would vote to impeach Sunny, but I wasn't part of any sort of movement to get Sunny impeached," said Chen in an interview with the Justice.

The meeting was then canceled after Aidasani spoke with President Ricky Rosen '14 and other Executive Board members to settle existing issues, according to Student Union Vice President Charlotte Franco '15.

Rosen declined to comment on the Union's initial reasoning for proposing impeachment, stating that he hopes the solution will prove effective, and that Aidasani will be able to continue as treasurer. "[T]he student body elected Sunny to be the Treasurer of the Student Union this year, and I am hopeful that Sunny will be able to carry out his responsibilities as Treasurer," wrote Rosen in an email to the Justice.

Aidasani answered similarly. "The circumstances have been resolved and after talking it over with a few members of the Executive Board, we have mutually decided that it is in the best interest of the student body for me to remain as the Student Union Treasurer," wrote Aidasani in an email to the Justice.

"To my understanding, the Student Union Executive Board and Senate are in my support and believe I will rightfully execute my duties," he added. "I am trying my best to rectify it now. Most, if not all, treasury tasks are on track and to be completed in a timely manner now."

According to Franco, there was a general lack of communication between Aidasani and other members of the Executive Board over the summer. In addition, the lack of communication between Aidasani and clubs left room for confusion. Franco explained that, over the summer, clubs email the treasurer to receive updates regarding their allocated funds.

Franco explained that one duty of the treasurer is to assist with the rough budget that is created and divided for different Union purposes. "[I]t was just [tasks like] setting up those different accounts and making sure that [Secretary] Sneha [Walia '15] had funding to start purchasing office supplies once the new year started and things like that," she said.

Franco said that after Rosen and Aidasani met to discuss the situation, Rosen decided that there was no longer a need for impeachment. "Basically it came to a decision that [Adasani] was able to do the job and that we were able to move forward and that Sunny showed that he could continue and knew what was needed of him to fix the summer and continue going forward," said Franco in an interview with the Justice.

However, Franco said that there is a list of tasks relating to Aidasani's duties as treasurer that he must complete by today, as determined by Rosen.

Should Aidasani fail to complete these tasks, the initial decision regarding how to handle the situation would go to the Executive Board once again.

"We'll have to consider our options," Franco said. "I mean obviously, everyone knows impeachment isn't something anybody wants to do and ... we really have to think about it. If there is a problem, again, we will be talking about it as a group and coming to a decision as to what the best course of action is, not only for the Union but for our students, for our clubs."

According to former Treasurer David Clements '14, over the summer, the Union treasurer is expected to organize purchasing card procurement, allocate early marathon, set policies, train the club leaders and assistant treasurers and respond to club questions.

"I believe that student life, at least in part, is reliant upon a productive and responsible Treasurer," Clements wrote in an email to the Justice. "Being the Treasurer is one of the most time consuming and necessary jobs in the Union, as the 270 clubs on campus cannot function properly without a well run Treasury and their finances in place."

Clements wrote that Aidasani was prepared and trained for the position prior to taking over as treasurer. "I spent more time training him than I received. He was well trained," Clements wrote.

Aidasani wrote in an email to the Justice that his communication may have been lacking. "I realize I might have been unresponsive over the summer, because I was dealing with personal circumstances that have been discussed with [Rosen]," Aidasani wrote. "I would like to apologize to anyone who was caused any inconveniences, and I would like the student body to rest assured that they may contact me with any questions or needs they have regarding club finances or treasury."

In his email to the Justice, Aidasani accounted for each summer responsibility named by Clements.

In regard to P-Card procurement, Aidasani wrote that the University is in the process of switching from JP Morgan to Wells Fargo, making the process take longer than expected. "I recommend club leaders get in touch with me for alternative payment. I will update club leaders as more information is available," he wrote.

Franco confirmed that Aidasani had no control over the delays in P-Card procurement. "[T]he way that P-cards work with Wells Fargo is different from what we're used to and there's small technical things that Budget Analyst Steve Costa is working out with the bank before P-cards can get issued," said Franco in an interview with the Justice. "Giving out P-cards, that's something that Steve Costa does. Then Sunny follows through."

According to Aidasani, early marathon allocations were already determined and posted on the Student Union Management System by the Finance Board over the summer. In addition, he wrote that the club treasurer's training generally takes place between one to two weeks after the Club Connections Conference. "This way, club leaders have more time to establish their E-Board positions and are not overwhelmed with too much information from Treasury and the Finance Board in one session," he wrote.

The treasurer's training, which will inform club leaders of all new policies, will tentatively take place on Sept. 10, 11 and 12, according to Aidasani. "Dates will be finalized and announced on the club leaders' listserv within the next few days. Assistant treasurers will receive their complete training the same week as well, if not earlier," he wrote.

-Tate Herbert, Adam Rabinowitz and Sam Mintz contributed reporting