The A.S. Judicial Board ruled in favor of Associated Students in the complaints made by the DJs and Vinylphiles Club for breach of contract on May 3. The board also found that Associated Students was not liable for damages the club incurred resulting from A.S. officers canceling the performance of the club’s DJs during the All-Campus Spring Dance held on April 2. However, the board also ruled that Associated Students should create a policy that gives two to three days warning for cancellations and write a letter of apology to the DVC.
DVC Vice President Victor Chiu said that he was not surprised by the decision.
“Going up against A.S. really is analogous to going up against some giant corporation — it’s never an easy task by any standards,” Chiu said. “However, we are pleased in that we achieved what we originally set out to do, that is, to protect all the future clients of A.S., primarily student organizations, from being taken advantage of.”
A.S. Commissioner of Student Advocacy Jeff Boyd, who represented Associated Students during the hearing, said that the organization was already planning on writing an apology and that he agreed with the results of the hearing.
“I thought it was a good decision,” Boyd said. “I agree with the position the board took … I think that when planning future events, we need to discuss issues like rain and what happens if the event gets canceled.”
During the hearing, Chiu charged that former Sixth College Sophomore Senator Mike Dawson breached a verbal contract that would have allowed the club into the all-campus dance program in exchange for promotions through flyers and other forms of advertising. The club DJs were slated to perform at Ballroom A and B. However, due to rain, organizers decided to have only one dance floor at the ballroom location, causing the DVC to be pushed out of the program.
“We found that some of the promotions were not as promised,” Chiu said. “One of the specifics was the cloth banner up in Price Center. We had elucidated in conversation that the logo and the DVC name would be put on the banner, but it was not present.”
The board concluded in its decision that the advertising provided by Associated Students for the dance was appropriate because it contained names of sponsors including the DVC logo according to the original agreement. The board also found that the cloth banners, which “had no organization labels,” were not under the control of the A.S. Council.
Boyd said during the hearing that while it was unfortunate that the DVC was pushed out, it was necessary due to concerns of limited capacity.
“The A.S. carried its end of the bargain. We offered free advertising over all the advertising that Mike Dawson had control of,” Boyd said during his closing statements.
The DVC also filed complaints against Associated Students charging unprofessional conduct by Dawson and sought compensation for associated damages related to the cancellation of the club’s show through a full-page ad in the UCSD Guardian. Chiu said that some of the DJs incurred travel expenses driving from the Los Angeles area and one of the DJs had created a special record specifically for the dance.
However, the board decision stated that the DJ selection and equipment costs were “left to the DVC’s discretion and were not included in the verbal agreements” between the club and Associated Students.
During the hearing, Chiu said that Dawson was supposed to call him in the afternoon of April 2 to inform him of the decision on whether the DVC performances would be canceled. Chiu said that he never received a call from Dawson to inform him of a decision.
“We believe that an extension of [the canceled event] was the weather, but it is the responsibility of the creator of the party to be informed of possible things that could happen and inform services that have gathered to inform them of cancellation,” Chiu said.
According to the board, its decision recognizes that both parties should have had greater communication to prevent confusion on April 2. The decision also stated that while Associated Students could have checked weather conditions in advance, the DVC should have “taken reasonable care in close cooperation with A.S.”
Chiu said that the DVC has plans to work with Associated Students on future events. According to Chiu, the DVC hopes that students will be motivated to stand up against the student government if they feel that they have been wronged.
“It is our responsibility as students to make sure that we catch [Associated Students] whenever they do something wrong, or else they’ll just continue to do it again and again,” Chiu said. “We hope that this motivates any other students or student organizations to use the judicial board as a forum to voice their opinions and never to just sit there quietly when you believe that something is wrong.”
