Butler

by Cory Blackwood
and Joe Harris
staff editors

A meeting will be held to discuss issues concerning the presidency of the Student Government Association at 2 p.m. Wednesday at 411 Clark Hall. The meeting is open to all students.

Gail Rimkus, a senior majoring in education, is one of the organizers of this meeting. The meeting is meant to make sense of the recent events surrounding the SGA office.

"The purpose of this meeting is for students to sit down and talk about everything that has occurred in the last few weeks and days," Rimkus said. "I hope that maybe we can sort out exactly what is going on. A lot has happened, and [this meeting] is needed for clarification."

Rimkus said everyone has his or her own agenda pertaining to the president's office so this meeting will be important to clarify the issues and to clear up any confusion regarding Butler's actions.

Rimkus said the meeting will not advance any future impeachment proceedings against Butler; rather, it is meant for students to voice their concerns about recent events.

"Impeachment would have to occur in a SGA meeting," Rimkus said. "This [meeting] is gathering facts and ideas. Impeachment would, at the very earliest, have to take place at the next SGA meeting."

Butler said he plans on attending the meeting, but not if it has to do with impeachment.

"Anything with impeachment I will not recognize in that fashion because the people together [who organized the meeting] . . . said they don't have the power for impeachment," Butler said.

Instead Butler would like to focus the meeting on issues concerning student fees, he said. One, in particular, that he would like to discuss is another planned increase in the student parking fee.

Butler said he would like to stay away from sensationalizing this meeting with terms like impeachment.

"I think the word impeachment creates sensationalism," Butler said. "If they want to try to form some type of witchhunt or whatever, then I'm not going to get involved in that."

Butler said to his knowledge that he has committed no impeachable actions.

Sarah Kraus, president of Manheim Park and a graduate student obtaining her masters in sociology, will help moderate the meeting. Manheim Park is an organization of students geared towards bringing people together to discuss various issues.

"This meeting is to bring everything out in the open; it has nothing to do with Butler," Kraus said. "The students need to know what is going on. Right now, everything is hearsay."

Kraus noted that this meeting will settle any disputes, and everything will be said and done after the meeting.

"People will not be able to complain after this meeting, especially if they do not attend," Kraus said. "I'm totally neutral, and that's why I've decided to moderate."

According to Article 8 of the current SGA Constitution, written in 1986, upon written demand of either two-thirds of the SGA assembly, or a petition of 5 percent of the students, an officer or an assembly member of the association may be impeached. Then the officer or assembly member would be required to appear before the student court.

Neither has happened as of press time.

Butler and SGA have called a press conference for Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Student Lounge to help answer student questions before Wednesday's meeting.