Broken communication lines are to blame for disagreements between the Student Association and its advisory office, the University Programming and Activities Director said.

“The responsibility for recognition clearly, at this university, rests with the Student Association,” said UP&A Director Michelle Emmett. Controversy began when the SA passed a resolution Sunday stating the “present administration is negating the power and responsibility of the SA.”

The resolution stemmed from complaints by SA Vice President Tanya Smith that UP&A had granted recognition approval to three campus organizations, therefore overriding Smith’s authority.

However, Emmett said the SA vice president failed to inform UP&A that several campus organizations had not turned in recognition packets.

“They should have already gone through the process to be registered and recognized,” Emmett said.

In past years, recognition approval was completed early in the fall semester through the SA vice president’s office. “I can think of past years when a memo would come up every week saying these are the organizations that have been approved and if any were denied, then that was indicated,” Emmett said.

The assumption has always been that an organization has been SA-recognized unless UP&A is notified otherwise, Emmett said.

However, a memo to UP&A from the SA vice president dated Feb. 19 lists 17 organizations not on the SA recogition list.

“Things are going to slip through the cracks,” she said. “We’re going to have to deal with the errors.

“If our office is going to err, then let’s err on the side of the students,” Emmett said.

Emmett said the problem arose this year because there was no clear ongoing communication between the SA vice president and the UP&A office.

The two met Monday to discuss the issue.

Smith was upset because Circle K was given approval to hang posters on campus without either university registration through UP&A or SA recognition, Emmett said.

“The President of Circle K had indicated that he had made many attempts to contact the SA vice president,” said Student Regent James Mertes.

The student regent, at the request of the SA president, helped that organization to obtain a UP&A authorization stamp without recognition approval, a memo from Mertes said.

“When Jim called we asked him, ‘Does the senate know about this?’, and the answer was yes,” Emmett said.