Editorial: Desire to fire

Student Senator P.V. Jantz filed papers with the Judicial Board this week, calling for the impeachment of Student Fee Committee member Ron Lee, who in turn plans to file his own calls for impeachment against various ASPSU officials.

There are several ways to assure that the conduct of elected officials is not unbecoming. Impeachment is a severe process for reprimanding those who act inappropriately in office, and knowing that the process exists helps keep our leaders honest.

Unfortunately, scandal at any level of government hardly surprises us anymore. Amid our political environment of distrust, public officials know that running on promises of accountability and transparency may yield skepticism, but they still make candidates attractive to voters.

Several student government members in office this year campaigned on platforms of accountability and transparency. The ugly part of these promises is seen when officials take action to undermine one another, when they get too hasty in their pursuit of accountability.

The ASPSU Judicial Board members are the gatekeepers between the desire to fire student officials and actually impeaching them. However, an impeachment is strictly a filing of charges against an official—it doesn’t guarantee that they will be removed from office.

Impeachment is a powerful tool that exists for good reason. But—as with most bureaucratic processes—where it can be used to protect constituents, it can also be manipulated by anyone with a vendetta.

The process is messy. There are different sides to every story and, ultimately, someone’s job is on the line, so impeachments should not be initiated on a whim. Scheduling hearings and involving moderators takes time and resources, so this should mean impeachment is pursued as a last resort, not as a frontline political tactic.

Voters are asked to make informed decisions before heading to the ballots. It is expected that elected officials be equally informed when filing formal action against one another. The target of an impeachment may end up losing face with the voting public, be out of a job or stripped of their political credibility.

Though it should be carefully considered before set into motion, the impeachment process is an essential tool for governmental watchdogs. Knowing that missteps could end in downfall is a basic principle of any job, and our student representatives should be subject to the same standards of behavior as the students whom elected them.