Student Union Treasurer Choon Woo Ha '08 created six new positions for his office over the summer. The students were not yet appointed by the Senate, which is mandatory under the Union constitution. Under section four of Article II, it states that the treasurer can "delegate administrative duties to students appointed and confirmed by the Senate expressly for such purposes." Ha's recent appointees have not been confirmed by the Union Senate, as there have been no Senate meetings yet.

Yet his four new assistant treasurers, one executive assistant and one special counselor have already begun their duties, which include assisting Ha with paperwork and the media. They have also sta-rted serving office hours, Ha said. "They are the only ones in the whole Un-ion serving office hours already," he said.

Ha said he didn't realize that all new members to the Union have to be confirmed by the Senate before officially taking office.

"I want to provide opportunities for people," Ha said. "This committee will provide me with opinions I didn't have last year. I want more opinions."

Student Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 confirmed that the treasurer's assistants have to be appointed and confirmed by the Senate first. This will be done at the next Senate meeting Sept. 9, she said.

"They will have to present themselves to the Senate, explain who they are and what they'll do," she said.

In choosing the group of assistants, Ha did not consult with other members of the Union's Executive Board, Sinha said.

"This was an independent decision," she said. "I hope this office will not exist in isolation."

The assistants are eligible to perform many of the same duties as the treasurer; they only need Ha's final signature, Adonis Watkins '09, one of the assistants, said. "I basically have the power to do whatever Choon does, such as approve checks."

"These will not be decision-making positions," Ha said. "They will assist me."

Ha defended his appointments.

"These positions are created for underclassmen to learn about being a treasurer. Hopefully they will stay with the Union after I leave." He added, "I want to make sure that this position becomes a much easier job. My focus is on the future."

Ha's assistants received an extensive training of more than 50 hours, for which they arrived early to campus.

Ha said the students who came to campus solely for his training will be reimbursed for the meals they ate on campus as well as off campus during the training.

Sinha said, "They cannot be reimbursed, because they have not yet been confirmed by the Senate." She added that other Union officials that arrived early to campus aren't being reimbursed for their meals either.