Denise Maybank, senior associate vice president of Student Affairs and Services, said she issued a memo to ASMSU on Friday afternoon indicating it had come back into compliance with the accountability measures.

“Their accounts, as far as the accountability measures, the freeze and the suspension have been removed with the correspondence I just sent them,” she said.

Maybank said she unfroze the accounts because ASMSU had taken steps to address concerns administrators had about ASMSU’s relationship with the university. Those steps included passing two bills that would amend the ASMSU constitution — one that would postpone implementation of 501©(3) nonprofit status and another to recreate a temporary Academic Assembly.

“(Unfreezing the accounts) had to do with the language for the April 4-11 elections and the meetings they needed to have with the appropriate individuals from Academic Governance,” she said.

Elections start today and will run online through next Monday at asmsu.msu.edu. Students will elect representatives for next session’s merged General Assembly.

ASMSU officials said for the next academic year, there will be a General Assembly and an Academic Assembly, however the Academic Assembly will be working within the General Assembly, not as a separate entity.

Also on the ballot are the two constitutional amendments the university approved.

Interim Chairman of Academic Assembly Zach Taylor said the bills are a good-faith gesture extended by the organization to ease tensions between ASMSU and the university.

“What it comes down is there’s very little trust between ASMSU — as well as many other student organizations — and the university,” he said. “Somebody had to kind of step up and make the first step.”
Taylor said the bill to postpone 501©(3) status would allow more time for continued conversations between ASMSU and university officials.

ASMSU’s accounts were frozen following a memo issued by Maybank on March 14 that charged the organization with a violation of the university accountability measures. The violation came as a result of a special election held in March to approve merging Academic and Student assemblies.

When the accounts were frozen, ASMSU continued discussions with university officials, where administrators expressed additional concerns about how the organization would relate to Academic Governance and if pursuing 501©(3) nonprofit status would distance ASMSU from the university. Student Assembly Chairman Chris Schotten said in an email the bills are a direct result of those discussions.

Current Academic Governance bylaws do not contain language to permit a General Assembly to appoint representatives — only an Academic Assembly. By recreating a temporary Academic Assembly, ASMSU officials said they hope to come back into accordance with the bylaws.