Ex-Student President Asked to Repay $800, Apologize

A former Cal State Northridge student body president, who resigned in February after admitting that she was not enrolled at the school, is being asked to repay a small portion of her salary and write an apology, campus officials said Thursday.

Lynn Westlund, 23, resigned Feb. 25 after telling university officials that she enrolled for the fall semester but was dropped from school after she failed to cover a bounced tuition check. Officials began questioning Westlund after an inquiry from The Times.

The president of the student body must be enrolled in at least seven course units to hold the office, which pays $550 a month.

The 28-member Student Senate, acting on a recommendation by an ad hoc committee that reviewed the incident, agreed in a voice vote Tuesday to ask Westlund to give back $800 in Associated Students funds and submit a handwritten apology, said Associated Students spokesman Rick Childs.

Westlund collected the $800 in February in a lump sum representing a $100-a-month raise, retroactive to the previous July, that she had asked for.

Westlund will be allowed to keep more than $5,000 in salary paid her since taking office because the student committee concluded that she “did not misuse or misappropriate any corporate funds, and notwithstanding actual enrollment status, she executed her duties in the best interest of the corporation.”

Childs said he was not sure what action the Student Senate will take if Westlund does not repay the money and write an apology.

Westlund could not be reached for comment. She has denied any wrongdoing in previous interviews and said she would not apologize.