After deciding Tuesday to send buses to Washington for the presidential inauguration, the Michigan Student Assembly postponed registration for the trip because of accusations of partisanship.

The postponement came a day after MSA voted to appropriate $6,805 to subsidize the cost of bus tickets for less than half the usual price by a vote of 27-1 with three abstentions.

At around 3:30 p.m., about an hour and a half before the registration for the trip was to begin yesterday, MSA moved the time at which it would begin accepting reservations to noon today.

Registration for the event was to be done by MSA’s Peace and Justice Commission, but some representatives said they felt the commission was too biased to handle the process.

“The Peace and Justice Commission seems to be a very liberal commission,” said MSA Rules and Elections chair Russell Garber, the only member to vote against the resolution to send buses to D.C. “They were the ones who brought in Michael Moore. It was my belief that more liberals could be on those buses, and they were becoming MSA-subsidized protest buses. I felt that the process was becoming slanted,” he said.

MSA president Jason Mironov firmly voiced confidence in the nonpartisanship of MSA’s Peace and Justice commission. But in light of the concerns over the commission’s perceived bias, Mironov and MSA Vice President Anita Leung took over the registration process.

“The reason Anita and I chose to take registration on ourselves was because ultimately it’s our responsibility to make sure the event is nonpartisan. Concerns were voiced to us that it might be partisan, so now we can say with absolute certainty that they wont be. We have the utmost faith in our P. and J. (MSA Peace and Justice Commission) chairs, but we will sleep better knowing that we’ve done it ourselves,” Mironov said.

The postponement did not disappoint the College Democrats or College Republicans.

Ben Saukas, vice chair external of the College Republicans, said the group was pleased with the decision because it gave it more time to inform their members about the registration and trip.

“We are quite happy that they postponed it,” Saukas said.

“I don’t think the delay from yesterday at 5 p.m. to Thursday at 12 p.m. should make a huge difference. I think people who were interested will stay interested,” LSA junior College Democrats President Ramya Raghavan said.

RC junior Ryan Bates, co-chair of MSA’s Peace and Justice Commission, said he was very pleased with the decision to subsidize buses to Washington, and that it was a good experience working with Raghavan and College Republicans president Allison Jacobs.

“The Peace and Justice Commission forwarded the idea of sending buses to Washington, D.C. and contacted Ramya Raghavan and Ali Jacobs, who both decided to co-sponsor the resolution and speak on its behalf to the assembly,” Bates said.

Garber, an LSA junior, said he voted against the resolution not only because of the commission that would handle it, but also for economic reasons.

“The trip only benefits about 200 students. The costs for this trip to MSA are about $55 per person, when MSA fees per student are about $5.69 per person. Economically it just doesn’t make sense to spend so much money on so few students,” Garber said.

Other students voiced similar concerns. “It’s upsetting to hear that my money is going towards that,” said LSA senior Sheema Rabbaig.

“If you’re just going down there to see it, you might as well watch it on T.V., but if you are going (to the inauguration) with a cause, like to protest or something, then you should go,” LSA junior Willice Barringer said.

For those involved in the process of passing the resolution, there was mostly excitement about the upcoming trip.

Jacobs, who is an LSA sophomore, said she was pleased with MSA’s decision and excited about the event.

“People don’t have to be Democrats or Republicans to go. They could just be interested in the process. I think it was a great showing that we can all work together,” she said. “It’s important for students to watch the democratic process unfold whether pleased with the result or not. Watching the president be inaugurated shows that youth really do have an impact in government and we can make a difference.”

Raghavan echoed Jacobs’s enthusiasm.