In the final day of Judicial Board hearings, undergraduate student government officer Rustom Z. Birdie said he now understands that his actions constituted a conflict of interest.

The Judicial Board is investigating Birdie’s relationship with Jobbook.com, a website he was contracted to promote to UCLA students in return for 1,000 shares of stock in the company. Public hearings were held throughout the week.       

Birdie, who is Financial Supports commissioner for the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said he initially agreed to promote Jobbook because it fell in line with his office’s initiative to help Bruins find jobs after graduation. After a Daily Bruin article disclosed Birdie’s relationship with the website, USAC requested he submit a petition to the Judicial Board for investigation.

The board detected many discrepancies between Birdie’s statements in his petition and the evidence he provided. In the petition, Birdie said the only work he had done to promote Jobbook was to invite all of his friends on Facebook to an event that anticipated the site’s launch. He also said he felt that entering a contractual agreement with Jobbook was a personal endeavor that had little to do with his role in USAC.

But in February, Birdie sent an e-mail asking the Daily Bruin to cover Jobbook as a “program/service” offered by the Financial Supports Commission.

The board pointed out that in this email, Birdie said his office was educating and promoting Jobbook to UCLA students. Birdie now says he misspoke, and should have said his office planned on doing these things because they viewed Jobbook as a potential FSC program.
 
During the proceedings, USAC administrative representative Berky Nelson confirmed that sending e-mail from an official USAC account indicated the use of student government resources to promote the website.

Birdie sent this e-mail to the Daily Bruin on Feb. 8, when he said he still believed he had a valid contract with the company. Though Birdie said he did not have to take the shares, he did confirm that they would be offered to him.

The Judicial Board pointed out inconsistencies between the evidence it collected, witness testimonies and the original petition Birdie submitted, which the board claimed was a document that should have been factually accurate. Birdie said he apologized if his statements in the petition seemed unclear, and said he had met with a number of advisers to craft the petition.

The Board will issue its official recommendation no later than April 8 at 5 p.m.