Stephan Roy has not been a member of the Undergraduate Student Government Department of Legal Affairs since last spring, and Roy charges that is because the department discriminated against him. But the department says Roy was let go because he didn't fulfill his duties.

"This student organization has discriminated against me on the basis of political beliefs, race and handicap," Roy said. In January, Roy filed a grievance with the USG Supreme Court, which is now researching the case.

Department of Legal Affairs Director Gary Greco said the only reason Roy was asked to leave the staff was because last spring he did not serve office hours. The department has a written policy requiring all members to serve three 50-minute office hours each week and attend staff meetings, Greco said.

"He's not the only one who has been excluded because of not attending office hours or staff meetings," Greco said.

Roy admitted he did not serve the hours last spring, but said he is "more than willing" to serve office hours this year.

Greco said he does not want to now set a precedent by re-accepting a former member who had been fired.

Roy said when he applied to rejoin the legal affairs department last fall he was turned down because he suffers minor brain damage.

Roy said his doctors recommended he not take on full-time status because of the injury. Roy said the department would not let anyone but a full-time student join, and that such an exclusion was discriminatory. Greco said the department did not dismiss Roy because of his handicap.

Roy also charged the department racially discriminated against him because, he said, in 1989 department staffers removed from a bulletin board a newspaper article that highlighted Roy's American Indian heritage. Greco said he had never heard of the incident and can only speculate as to why the article was taken down.

Roy also said he has verbally defended minority students involved in legal affairs cases, and his statements made other staff members uncomfortable. But Greco said Roy's past activities also had nothing to do with the exclusion.

Roy said he plans to re-apply in the future. But Greco said the chances of the department accepting him are slim.

Attorney for Student Legal Services Bob Godlove said he has not seen discriminatory practices within the legal affairs department.

"I wouldn't refer people to them . . . unless I felt they were doing a good job, and I do," Godlove said.