Former student association president pleads guilty

Meghan Melnyk, the former president of the Mount Royal University Student’s Association, pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and robbery.

She also issued a public apology to the student association and the school.

Melnyk was charged following the incident back in February.

She was released on bail in March on the strict conditions to stay away from Mount Royal University and to report to police once a week.

On Feb. 29, a woman entered the Servus Credit Union in the 5300 block of 68 Ave. S.E. and approached the teller.

She claimed she had a weapon and demanded cash, and then left with an undisclosed amount of money.

With the assistance of the HAWC2 helicopter, the Calgary Police arrested her a short time later.

Melnyk was the SAMRU president until January, when she resigned after some financial anomalies were discovered.

The Calgary Police are currently investigating the problems found at the association.

Former candidates have commented that the association doesn’t have enough background checks on student executives.

“Something has to be done. Right now, there is no background checks done on student executives other than to make sure their GPA is high enough. And when you’re talking about student executives, they have access to a lot of money,” said Kyle MacQuarrie.

The association says that they are reviewing their own bylaws and point out that they already have significant checks and balances in place to screen candidates.

Court records found after the arrest indicate that Melnyk has been in trouble before, being convicted of possessing a stolen truck in 2008, and fraudulently obtaining a SIN number in 2010.