The Tuesday night before Spring Break Student Senate met and discussed an incident involving Senator Tyler Gibson ‘09, a member of the Constitution, Bylaws and Policy Review Committee (CBPR). Senator Gibson was alleged to have not only violated the bylaws of the Senate, but also that his actions raised questions on ethical grounds. President Juan Carlos Venis ‘09, who had appointed Senator Gibson to the Committee, dismissed the senator from the CBPR based on these indiscretions.
In the Senate session prior to that, Secretary of the Student Senate Royce Gregerson ’09, raised objections about the Wabash Conservative Union’s (TWCU) compliance with the Student Organization Leadership Act (SOLA). SOLA was adopted in March 2007 under the direction and craftsmanship of Sean Clerget ’09 (current editor-in-chief of The Phoenix, though not at the time). SOLA states that, “only students may be officers,” and that officers are the leaders of an organization that, “at the very least, [...] include president and treasurer, but may also include those officers with similar status or officers that comprise an executive committee or board.” [emphasis added]
In the February 2008 issue of The Phoenix (the publication put out by TWCU), page 21 listed the “new members to the Wabash Conservative Union Board of Directors.” It also stated that, “we are very excited about our new alumni directors.” None of the names listed were current students, but alumni. In the Student Senate minutes from March 27, 2007, Sean Clerget is recorded as asserting that, “the Wabash Conservative Union will have no alumni leadership and will be completely student run.” Secretary Gregerson is of the opinion the existence of a Board of Directors with alumni members is a violation of SOLA. Thus, the case was directed to the CBPR for review.
Once the matter had reached CBPR, Senator Gibson then proceeded to contravene several CBPR standing policies.
He attempted to reorganize the CBPR’s membership, which included a move to oust current chair Senator Steve Zajac ’10. Senator Gibson also sent e-mails commenting on the CBPR’s ability to rearrange membership and allegedly frequently referred to the “SZ thing,” which presumably is an allusion to the plans to remove Chairman Zajac. According to the bylaws of the Senate, this decision to remove Chairman Zajac was unconstitutional. Only the President of the Student Body can appoint or dismiss committee officers under the current rules.
He attempted to install Vice President John Moton ‘09 as temporary chair of the CBPR. Of course, Chairman Zajac, who was off-campus for NCAC swimming, was still chairman, and the Vice President only acts as a committee chair when said committee has not been appointed a chair. Vice President Moton did chair one meeting of the CBPR while Chairman Zajac was absent, but this decision was approved by a majority vote of the Senate.
Senator Gibson called the meeting to discuss the ousting of Chairman Zajac, the TWCU matter, acted as chair, all in an apparent conflict of interest: Senator Gibson is the events coordinator for TWCU. Senator Adam Brasich ’11, another member of the CBPR, is listed as the copy editor for the Phoenix, TWCU’s publication. This triumvirate was to decide the future of an organization to which two of them belonged. The members present voted to remove their chairman, and deemed the TWCU not in violation of SOLA.
Further problems arose: the time and place of this meeting was not publicly announced to all involved parties – these meetings are supposed to be open to the entire student body. Further, Secretary Gregerson, who filed the complaint, was not informed of the meeting, as was his right under Senate bylaws. Therefore, the “meeting” had no validity and was ruled as such by the Senate on Tuesday night.
Other CBPR members were unaware of the unofficial status of the meeting, including Senator Charles Kelly ‘11.
President Venis said that the incident reflects badly on the situation regarding committees. “I’m disappointed that the committees are not working with the rules outlined in the Constitution,” President Venis said.
President Venis dismissed Senator Gibson from the committee, reminding the Senate that his decision could be overturned with a simple majority vote. The Senate unanimously upheld the President’s dismissal. The President continued by saying that Senator Gibson had informed him that he would be attending Senate and resigning his membership in CBPR; however, Senator Gibson was not present at the meeting.
The Bachelor sat down with an interview with Senator Gibson to assess his perspective on the situation.
Bachelor: Why did you call that illegal meeting?
Gibson: To get rid of Steve Zajac. The Union had nothing to do with it. I have had the longstanding personal belief that Zajac is not capable of his duties. I had had earlier discussions with other members concerning him. The Union is an extra factor, and at best, consequential.
Bachelor: Do you believe that the Wabash Conservative Union was in accordance with SOLA?
Gibson: I’m good friends with Sean Clerget, the editor-in-chief of the Phoenix. He wrote SOLA, so he has a deep understanding that I took from him. SOLA was created to remove outside influence, and I believe that the Wabash Conservative Union upholds SOLA with its non-interference policy and bylaws.
Bachelor: Do you have any remarks about your absence during the Senate session in which you were dismissed from the CBPR?
Gibson: I chose to allow things to unfold and defer to the President. I knew what was coming. I believed that my presence in the chamber would have caused controversy, whereas my absence made the decision simple.
Bachelor: Any final remarks?
Gibson: I want to stress that the meeting I called was completely focused on Zajac. I don’t want to be seen as trying to protect my club. Also, I believe President Venis’ decision was correct. I overstepped my bounds. I think that Aaron Bonar is perfectly capable, and more so than others, to be on the CBPR.