A notice posted by the interim vice chancellor of student affairs on the association's office door, which had its locks changed, banned students involved with the association from accessing funds from university facilities and student fees until further notice.,”

The closure of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's student government by the university Friday has heightened already tense relations between the Student Association and the administration.

A notice posted by the interim vice chancellor of student affairs on the association's office door, which had its locks changed, banned students involved with the association from accessing funds from university facilities and student fees until further notice. The shutdown came months into an investigation of a potential $10,000 embezzlement by members of student government, reported by UWM senior Jesse Dercks after examining a checking statement for August.

The Student Association held an emergency meeting in a garage after the office's closure, according to Dercks. They passed a resolution, with no authority, called the Financial Accountability Act, which seeks to close the organization's financial records to university scrutiny, Dercks said.

The association's president was going to meet with auditors about the investigation yesterday, but instead the university was notified in the morning by the association's attorney that they were canceling the meeting, according to university spokesman Tom Luljak.

"At this point they indicated that they were trying to find some other means to resolve the situation," Luljak said.

Dercks, president of the Student Housing Administrative Council, said senior Russell Rueden, who oversaw a council fundraising account and the association's allocation of student fees, was the student primarily under investigation, although he said others are probably involved.

"The university definitely has a good reason to check it out," Dercks said.

Dercks said the association has created a system to avoid oversight by other parties and force students to play by their rules.

"The Student Association claims to be an organization that protects the students from this oppressive system, but in fact it's the other way," Dercks said. "It's not a democracy."

Luljak could not comment on who was being investigated, and had no information on when student government would reopen.

"Our position continues to be this: we do not believe this is a matter involving student governance, as claimed by some," Luljak said. "This issue is one of accountability and transparency."

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