At Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting, the impeachment process of Student Fee Committee member Ron Lee was delayed until next week due to a lack of representation for both parties involved in the case.
ASPSU delays impeachment proceedings
At Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting, the impeachment process of Student Fee Committee member Ron Lee was delayed until next week due to a lack of representation for both parties involved in the case.
Lee faces impeachment charges after he accused the Pre-Law Society’s President Ashley McClain of financial mismanagement. These claims were made after Lee failed to receive $5 owed to him by the society, as reported by the Vanguard.
McClain was unable to attend the meeting, raising concerns that both sides were not accurately represented.
Anandi Hall, a justice on the ASPSU Judicial Board said, “This is an issue between two parties, and before we make the decision to go along with the hearing or not, perhaps we could postpone [the hearing] until next week. [McClain] is the second party, and she’s not here to speak for herself, and I don’t think that’s fair.”
In addition, Lee left before deliberation could begin. Due to the circumstances, the Senate passed a motion to postpone the hearing until the following week.
Lee and McClain will receive certified mail requesting their presence. However, if they are unable to attend, both are to provide written documentation so that the impeachment process will come to an end at next week’s meeting, according to ASPSU Vice President Ed Hallman.
Student Senator P.V. Jantz, who submitted the impeachment request, claimed that Lee’s actions were unethical and that his accusations made against the PLS damaged the group’s reputations.
Lee said, “The actual issue that became an SFC issue was financial mismanagement. Whether it’s $5 or 50 cents, students at PSU deserve to make sure that all of those funds are accounted for.”
“It’s so frustrating to me that there would be a suggestion of character or unethical behavior when I’m putting myself out there to make sure that these [issues] are taken care of,” he said.
Domanic Thomas, assistant director for Student Activities and Leadership Programs, raised an additional concern that ASPSU’s only tool at the moment for misconduct is impeachment.
The Student Senate discussed amending ASPSU’s constitution in order to incorporate a graduated system of penalties and a rubric for addressing ethical misconduct.
“If the senate wants to proceed with this [trial], it has to do so in tandem of creating a system that deals with ethical concerns on a graduated system,” said Brad Vehafric, chair of the Judicial Board.
The next Student Senate meeting will take place in Smith Memorial Student Union, room 296, at 5 p.m. on March 2. The meeting is open to the public.
