IAA spent SAC funds on personal calls

and Peter Morrison The International Affairs Association overspent $305.61 in Student Activities Council money on long-distance telephone calls, including at least $33.79 in calls to the family and friends of IAA board members, a Daily Pennsylvanian investigation of IAA expenditures revealed. Last spring, the IAA requested $25 in SAC funding per month for 12 months of long-distance phone calls during 1994 and 1995. SAC refused to pay for calls made during the summer and allocated the group only eight months of calls at $25 per month, for a total of $200. The IAA actually spent $505.61 on long-distance phone calls, including calls during late May, June, July and August, according to public records and Penntrex phone bills obtained from the Office of Student Life. That amounts to $42.13 a month for 12 months, well above the $25 a month allocated for only eight months. The group spent $117.05 in September, $183.38 in October, and $88.59 in November 1994. SAC paid for all of these telephone calls under the broad budget category of "Office Expenses," according to OSL records. IAA President and College senior Brendan Cahill said when the IAA plans conferences for its model United Nations program it is difficult to predict how much long-distance calling will be necessary to coordinate the meetings. He added that calls were made during the summer by the group's secretary general in preparation for a conference at the University in November. Cahill denied that any IAA board members placed personal phone calls from the group's office. "The IAA office phone is only used for conference business," Cahill said. "Only IAA board members have keys to the office and those people are responsible. We regulate [the office] because we take it very seriously." But the phone statements show IAA board member Tony Huang, a Wharton junior, made at least 10 phone calls to his parents and girlfriend in San Jose, Calif. last year. Huang made five calls to his girlfriend in September and October 1994 which totaled 263 minutes and cost more than $28. This includes two calls that lasted 100 minutes and 80 minutes each. Huang also made at least $5 worth of phone calls to his parents on the IAA's bill. Cahill said Huang's girlfriend worked on a committee to organize Penn's model U.N. conference and that may be why Huang called her. Cahill himself also made at least two calls to his parents' house in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and IAA board member Josh Wolson, a College senior, called his parents' home in Allentown, Pa. on at least one occasion. Other questionable charges on the phone bills include a series of calls to Quebec, Canada, and at least one call to Paris, France. The call to Paris was placed on May 23 at 12:22 a.m. EST -- 6:22 a.m. Paris time -- and lasted 13 minutes. It cost SAC $6.43. Cahill said the IAA was calling to invite a university in Paris to a conference, but that the university's delegation was never able to attend. "My opinion is that I and my fellow board members take these operations, student money and our jobs very seriously," Cahill said. "I would give them the benefit of the doubt." SAC Steering Chairperson Graham Robinson, a College senior, said he was "surprised an organization of [the IAA's] size would do something like that because they could easily afford to be careful." "Everything about that is wrong," Robinson said. "I'm very skeptical they would be able to respond that in any way that would explain it." Editor's Note: Peter Morrison is editorial page editor of the DP and will not participate in any potential editorials on this topic.

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