Fate to be discussed Monday

The Student Organization Appeals Board will meet privately on Monday to discuss whether Students Reinforcing Adherence In General Heterosexual Tradition has grounds to appeal the decision that prevented it from becoming an official University organization.

SOAB will review the reason for appeal at that time, said Barbara Copland, adviser to SOAB.

STRAIGHT is appealing the decision on the basis of irregularity, said Darin Loccarini, president of STRAIGHT. The Undergraduate Student Government Supreme Court's unanimous decision on Feb. 16 was irregular because it is not in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, he said.

"They may decide they need more information," she said. "So we're trying to anticipate any information they might need . . . such as information about other so-called 'controversial' organizations."

The names of the 12 SOAB members will not be released, Copland said, but the quorum of eight members will be met. One faculty member on the board has since left the University and another is on sabbatical, she said. At least one student member is not at the University now, Copland said.

STRAIGHT's appeal is thought to be the first appeal submitted to SOAB by a nonregistered student organization, Copland said. She discussed the issue with former SOAB advisers J. Thomas Eakin, assistant vice president of Student Affairs, and Stan Latta, director of Student Life, and neither of them could remember any case like this.

However, Copland said SOAB is not reviewing the case just because of the recent media attention surrounding STRAIGHT.

"Any organization which is turned down has an appeal process," Copland said. "They're just infrequent."

After SOAB makes its decision, Copland will inform the organization and will file written documentation of the decision.

If SOAB decides STRAIGHT has grounds for appeal, SOAB has several options. It can decide to hear the case itself. The board also could return the case to the USG Supreme Court with any new evidence the board finds important.

"We'll give the court one more shot and that's it," Loccarini said.

Loccarini is worried about getting caught up in a long process of throwing the case back and forth between SOAB and the USG Supreme Court, he said.