On Oct. 6, the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) General Council passed a controversial motion which allocates up to $4,000 of the society’s budget to provide SUS executives with iPhone 4 devices and paid data plans.

The motion, which passed with a vote of 14-9, had the support of all six voting members of the SUS executive and eight other representatives to the council. In addition to the executive, SUS General Council (GC) is comprised of two science student senators, three representatives from SSMU, and 19 representatives from departmental organizations.

The issue of the paid mobile plans first came up during a reading of the budget in late September, when a council member noticed the amount as a line item, a single expense listed simply as “phone plans.” Prior to the reading, no mention had been made of the executive’s intention to use society funds for this purpose. According to other representatives, the iPhones had already been purchased with signed contracts.

“They bought the [phone] plans [first], and then it was brought to council after that point,” Max Luke, one of two science senators who sit on GC, said. “The budget was up for approval at this meeting, [and] someone asked about the phone plan on the budget. That was really the first time we heard about it.”

Luke suggested that if no one had noticed the line item, it would likely have simply passed along with the general budget.

Following an onslaught of questions from other councillors, the issue was tabled, and the amount was temporarily removed from the budget. Representatives called for more information and a code of conduct regarding use of the phones. Both were presented at the next meeting before the motion passed. The updated motion states that the four executives who already owned iPhone 4s would not be eligible to have their plans paid for, leaving four plans to be covered by SUS.

SUS executives have maintained that the phones will improve communication between them and the students they represent, allowing them to communicate on SUS matters while in class. The phones, for SUS business use only, will remain the property of the society.

Akal Sethi, Executive Revenue Office of the SUS, pointed to collaboration over their last Listserv as an example of the necessity of the phones.

“In the span of three hours, we shot between 20 emails. We were all in class…[but] still in constant communication with each other.”

Elaine Xie, the VP Finance of the SUS, explained that funding for the phones comes from corporate sponsors and not student fees.

“No part of what students are giving us are going to these phones.” Xie said. “We use [sponsorship] money to better our ability to help the students, and we felt that getting these phones … was a way to help the students better.”

Many representatives on the council voiced concern over the necessity of the expensive plans. Anthony Yu, Co-President of the McGill Biochemistry Undergraduate Society, voted against the measure because his organization wanted to see more concrete evidence for how the devices will benefit SUS.

“BUGS thought that more preparation (facts, statistics) and more transparency (notifying everyone before actually getting [sic] the phones, even if it was inevitable) was needed in the affair,” Yu said in an email to the Tribune.

Luke echoed Yu’s concerns, questioning the need for such expensive devices.

“The rationale was that the phones will make life more efficient … but [other faculty associations] and [even] senators get a lot of email as well and manage,” Luke said. “[My vote against it] was really just on principle …  [that and the fact] that they slipped it into the budget …  without really consulting at all.”

While the funding did come from sponsorship, and the executive alleges that SUS events have their own funding and sponsors, that money could potentially otherwise be put towards student services and activities.

“Traditionally that [sponsorship] money has been used for expenditures which enhance SUS. In the past it has also been used for events for students as well,” Luke said.  “I guess you could say that by purchasing these phones you might be detracting from a student event, … [but] it’s not outside the realm of normality to use it for something like phones.”

The meeting minutes of the General Council of Oct. 6, which give specifics on the motion, have yet to be released. Luke felt this may be in response to the public scrutiny the whole issue has received.

“Usually the minutes come out two or three days after GC, [and] it’s been over a week,” Luke said.