Post Classifieds
USG dismisses sens. for conduct
Judicial Council recommends impeachment of Jarmond
By Katie Anderson
On May 2, 2013
Business went back to usual during the United Students Government senate meeting Tuesday
night, after last week's session resulted in chaos.
The 8:45 p.m. meeting April 23 ended when USG president Sara Garfinkle dismissed the entire
senate due to disorderly conduct. Garfinkle said that she kicked out Chief Justice Edward
Bryant, then Trivet Jarmond, associate vice president for campus affairs and government
relations, and eventually the entire senate.
The disruptive conflict began when the Judicial Council, along with its leader, Bryant,
recommended to the senate the idea to have Jarmond impeached.
"The senate was just taken so much by surprise by it that all the new information that kept being
brought up caused the senate to stir up a little bit," Jarmond said. "The senate kept on stirring
and it got the president a little agitated to the point where the president kicked me out."
Jarmond said that he came back into the meeting and the senate said he could stay in the
gallery if he wanted to.
"While I was going up to the gallery, the senate was stirring up a little more and the president
cancelled the meeting in the middle of it," Jarmond said.
The tensions between Jarmond and the Judicial Council began when the council put Jarmond
under judicial review.
"Because they can set their own priorities, the Judicial Council decided to put AVP Jarmond
under a 30-day judicial review, which is when they watch him and see how he's doing in his
position," said Christina Germann, executive vice president of USG.
Jarmond said the reason he was put under review dates back to last semester, when the
Commuter Council was unrecognized by USG.
"The constitution only unrecognized them because they didn't put their elections on Bengal
Connect," he said. "In the case, it was said that I didn't do my job to support them or to help
them stay recognized when, in fact, I did."
Andrea Gustafson, speaker pro tempore of USG, said that the Commuter Council's situation
was out of Jarmond's control.
"Commuter Council forfeited their right to be an organization by not doing what was required of
them by the USG constitution," she said. "(Jarmond) couldn't have stopped it if he wanted to."
In contradiction to the Judicial Council, Germann, Jarmond's immediate supervisor, said that
Jarmond should not be impeached.
"I believe that he should be able to voice his side of the argument as well," she said. "In the
very beginning, he was struggling, but he began to take my advice as well as his mentor's and
he has improved so much. He's communicating really well with the orgs and he's making very
positive changes around campus."
Gustafson said that she also believes that Jarmond is well liked among the senate because he
does his job.
"He hasn't had the experience of being a senator before he jumped to the executive board, but
I think he has handled it amazingly and I was one of (Jarmond's) biggest critics at the beginning
of the year," she said. "So, I don't know why anybody even went after him saying that he didn't
do his job."
Germann said that although she does respect the Judicial Council, she does not think the
actions taken against Jarmond are fair.
Bryant said that once the minutes for the meeting are released, he would be willing to comment,
but not before.
On April 29, Garfinkle sent out an email canceling the senate meeting for April 30, and warned
of the possibility of canceling the remaining sessions of the semester.
The email stated: "All senate meetings will be canceled indefinitely until further notice."
She said that personal matters as well as the senate's failure to follow house rules were factors
in her decision to call off the meeting.
"I just needed time to get everything straightened out, but that wasn't the only reason why I
decided to cancel the meeting," she said. "I had a lot of personal things going on that I couldn't
have been in attendance and looking at the agenda and the way things were going, it is my right
as chair to call off a meeting if need be."
Gustafson said she disagreed with the decision to cancel the meetings.
"Sara feels that we need to cool down and recollect ourselves before we meet again," she said.
"Now, that's really not her place to say. As far as I'm concerned, she can't cancel anything."
Upon receiving the president's email, Gustafson and other AVPs and senators gathered
together in her office to complete a phone treaty in the hopes of overturning Garfinkle's ruling to
not have a senate meeting April 30.
"We (were)... calling everybody to make a motion to be able to keep the meeting going on
tomorrow so we can do business, so that the student body can continue to get what they need
from their representatives," she said. "If we're not fighting to represent them, what good are
we?"
Gustafson also said that without senate meetings, some organizations may not receive
feedback on purchase orders.
"The treasurer has purchase orders that she needs to get signed," she said. "With her canceling
the meeting this week, we really don't know how we're going to get organizations their money if
we can't meet as a senate to do business."
The phone treaty was successful, and the meeting April 30 was held and was run by Garfinkle.
According to Gustafson, USG has not passed out signup sheets for Springfest, the carnival or
other major events taking place in the last week of the semester, and they have no one to work
the events.
Katie Anderson can be reached by email at anderson.record@live.com.
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