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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Xu urges Student Court to dismiss case against finance bylaws

Yan+Xu%2C+the+SA+senate%E2%80%99s+finance+chair%2C+said+organizations+are+now+requesting+more+money+since+the+University+has+returned+to+in-person+operations.
Sydney Walsh | Assistant Photo Editor
Yan Xu, the SA senate’s finance chair, said organizations are now requesting more money since the University has returned to in-person operations.

Updated: April 4, 2022 at 1:43 p.m.

Student Association Sen. Yan Xu requested the Student Court dismiss a case Thursday that could overturn legislation he introduced to widen the SA Senate finance committee’s authority to regulate financial activities among student organizations, arguing the lawsuit is irrelevant.

The SA Office of the Legislator General filed a lawsuit in February against Xu, the chair of the finance committee, alleging that the updated bylaw gives the committee too much power over registered student organizations. Xu passed legislation in response later that month, which addressed most of the suit’s complaints, but the plaintiffs filed a revised complaint last month, arguing that the committee’s power to sanction student organizations is still unconstitutional.

“The Defendants believe the Court should wait for further factual development in the form of a dispute over an implemented procedure that would facilitate the Court’s review of the sanction process,” the answer to the lawsuit reads.

In his answer, Xu contested that the finance committee will only theoretically be able to sanction student organizations until the power expires in July because of the updated legislation the senate passed, rendering the case irrelevant. He said the committee wouldn’t sanction any student organizations before July because SA bylaws do not outline or provide for the sanctioning process despite the powers his legislation grants.

“The claim brought by the Plaintiffs is not yet a dispute, and the Court will judge on abstract disagreements,” the answer reads.

The court was set to decide whether to review the case Sunday at its initial consideration meeting.

This post has been updated to clarify the following:
This story has been updated to clarify that Xu did not formally issue a motion to dismiss the lawsuit but submitted a response to it to the Student Court urging the court to dismiss it.

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About the Contributor
Erika Filter, News Editor
Erika Filter is a senior majoring in international affairs from Carson City, Nevada. She leads the Metro beat as one of The Hatchet's 2023-2024 news editors and previously served as the assistant news editor for the Student Government beat.
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