In recent weeks, Women’s Coalition has made headlines because of its push for increased campus safety measures, a cause we have strongly supported. But the student group attracted attention last week that it never intended.

The Student Activities Finance Board froze the group’s accounts and called for a formal hearing into allegations that former Women’s Co Director Beki Park signed an unauthorized contract in June for the group’s Women’s Week speaker, a possible violation of Student Organization Finance Office guidelines. That it comes at a time when Women’s Co is leading an important and urgent campaign for campus safety is unfortunate and regrettable.

But freezing accounts is the mandatory response after an SAFB account executive concludes a preliminary investigation and the board votes for a formal hearing. Rules and procedures must be followed, and making exceptions for certain groups, even those engaged in good work, isn’t feasible. SAFB had no choice but to freeze Women’s Co’s accounts, and we do not fault them for it.

Fortunately, Women’s Co’s accounts are only frozen temporarily, and SAFB Chairman Carson Kuo can access them if the need arises. The fight for campus safety need not grind to a halt immediately.

But when SAFB recommends a punishment for the group after its Tuesday hearing, and when the Associated Student Government Senate debates and votes on those recommendations on Wednesday, we hope they consider the value and importance of Women’s Co’s current efforts and the fact that Park no longer leads the group. A punishment that hampers the group’s campaign for campus safety would be out of proportion to an administrative infraction that caused no lasting damage. We therefore strongly recommend leniency in this matter.

There is no evidence to believe that this isolated incident represents an endemic problem with Women’s Co, or student groups in general. Everyone makes mistakes. We have confidence that Women’s Co already has learned its lesson.