Media Credit: Jeff Baum/senior photo editor Omar Woodard

Several Student Association senators are claiming that President Omar Woodard engaged in frivolous spending when he used SA money to pay for a $414 dinner at an upscale Georgetown restaurant in August.

At an Oct. 12 Senate meeting, Woodard defended the 10-person meal, which was held at Sequoia, a restaurant on the Georgetown waterfront, with his top advisors. He said his summer budget was $17,000 less than the funding for previous administrations.

Some senators said they still do not believe the cost of the meal was justified.

"Just because he spent less than another administration doesn't make it okay to take his cabinet out to a dinner at the Sequoia restaurant," Ben Traverse (CCAS-U) said. "I don't think anyone here wants their SA money being spent on expensive dinners for the executive hierarchy."

Peter Feldman (U-At Large) said the dinner raises the larger issue of the SA executive using student funds to cover personal expenses.

"If Student Association officials want to treat themselves to a dinner, then by all means," Feldman said. "But the idea that they are going to spend your and my annual student body fee money on their fancy dinner, I really think that's troubling."

Woodard, who said the Sequoia meal was the only time he used student funds to pay for a meal, refuted claims that the dinner was frivolous. He said it was legitimate to spend SA funds on a business dinner.

"Student organizations do this all the time," he said. "We had our dinner at Sequoia restaurant and it wasn't recreational; we were doing nothing except discussing work, which is what we did over the entire summer."

But former SA President Kris Hart, who finished his term at the end of the spring semester, called Woodard's meal "ridiculous" and said he only used student funds for a $35 lunch for his staff at T.G.I. Friday's.

"I understand the desire of the president to take care of people, they work full-time over the summer and do not get paid, but this is just excessive," Hart said.

Traverse said he will seek the expense approval form used to document the meal. The Hatchet was unable to acquire the EAF from the dinner for this article.

Traverse has only been able to look at the executive's quick-book, which does not provide the same detail as an expense form. Quick-books only list the amount and location of the expenditure, while EAFs list each item purchased.

Continued...

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