In a close vote Wednesday night, the Government of the Student Body adopted a recommendation by the finance committee to once again zero-fund the student organization, Cuffs.

The senate voted 15-14 to accept the recommendation due to the new information that has been discovered pertaining to Cuffs and their compliance with university regulations.

The funding budget for Cuffs, a sado-masochistic interest group, was sent back to the finance committee two weeks ago for further review.

Cuffs had opened their format, eliminating their closed meetings, to comply with the GSB bylaws and the regulations of the Dean of Student’s Office and the Student Activities Center. With these changes, the senate believed Cuffs was eligible for funding.

Members of the finance committee discovered last week that, according to the Student Organizations Resource Manual and the Student Disciplinary Regulations, there are no provisions against closed meetings, and student organizations do not have to comply with the Iowa open meetings law.

Steve Medanic, GSB finance director, sponsored the recommendation that states, “the senate was presented with incorrect information, and the decision to refer Cuffs back to the finance committee was predicated upon this information.”

Medanic and other members of the finance committee said funding the student organization would set a poor precedent, since Cuffs changed within the special allocations funding cycle to meet GSB bylaws.

Alex Olson, vice chairman of the finance committee, said the Cuffs issue points out some of the inequities of the system.

“There are 160 student organizations on this campus,” said Olson, off campus. “We cannot review every one of them eight times. It’s just not feasible.”

John Dorsey, president of Cuffs, said the organization still complies with all student activity rules and GSB Bylaws.

“The finance committee has come up with every excuse under the sun,” said Dorsey, senior in electrical engineering. “I don’t know how things moved to be zero-funded based upon things that are beyond our control. We meet the regulations, and we haven’t been notified by student activities that we are in violation.”

Andrew Kothenbeutel, TRA, said he and the rest of the finance committee feel that a group changing their structure within the same funding cycle simply to meet GSB Bylaws creates an ethical dilemma.

“Their intent hasn’t changed, and the basis behind their group hasn’t changed,” he said. “Our decision wasn’t due to a technicality, and this process was not a witch hunt.”

Several of the senators were strongly opposed to the finance committee’s decision to zero-fund Cuffs.

Patrick Kuehn, off-campus, said the finance committee has been critical of this group from the very beginning.

“The club made the necessary changes and yet they are still being criticized,” Kuehn said. “Finance committee is incompetent, and this sets a horrible precedent for future funding issues.”