February 14, 2000
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Our Opinion

Butler's refusal to step down slows SGA recovery

Editorial Board:
"Our Opinion" reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board. The editorial board is made up of Joe Harris, editor-in-chief, Mary Lindsley, managing editor, Benjamin Israel, news editor, Charmane Malone, features associate, and Brian Douglas, distribution manager.

The Issue:
Darwin Butler, President of the Student Government Association has recently expressed his opposition to decisions made in the SGA (while he was absent), claiming them to be attitudes of white privilege despite the fact that several African-Americans were at the meeting.

We Suggest:
It seems that Butler is coming up with terribly weak excuses for his actions when what he should be doing is clearing out a spot in the SGA by removing himself from office.

So What Do You Think?
Write a letter to the editor about this issue or anything else that's on your mind!

Student Government Association President Darwin Butler's appeal on the actions of the SGA's Jan. 20 meetings are based, in his words, on two things: white privilege and due process.

Unfortunately, as has been the case for almost the entire school year, Butler has missed the boat. Both reasonings are off the mark, and the appeal borders on libelist ground.

First, Butler states that the calling of a second meeting displays an attitude of white privilege. Butler calls this the basis of his appeal.

Butler, though, wasn't at the meeting. If he was, he would have seen minorities and Caucasians alike voting the same way. There was no arm twisting; everybody voted the same way on their own volition and with the best interests of student government in mind.

It is unfortunate that Butler has to use race as a crutch for his shortcomings. The reason the SGA Assembly (those that show up anyway) want him removed is not because he is an African-American; rather, it is because he has been unable to perform his duties as SGA president since October.

Secondly, for Butler to say his due process has been disregarded shows his disregard for the state of student government and the students. What about the students' due process? They have been waiting for the SGA to get a leader since October. Instead, SGA has stagnated through quorum calls and canceled meetings. It is time to move on.

Finally, Butler's grounds for disagreement on the approval of Michael Rankins as SGA vice-president because it is unconstitutional shows a lack of understanding of SGA's constitution itself. The constitution states no officer cannot serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. Officially Carrie Mowen and Steven Wolfe have held the office since Rankins so he is entitled to hold it again.

We still question the ethics behind the SGA's procedure at its Jan. 20 meeting, however, this editorial is about the appeal itself and its premise.

This appears to be Butler's last attempt to maintain the power that has slipped away since his work release was revoked in October. If Butler cares about student government on this campus and students at all, he would do the honorable thing and remove his appeal along with stepping down as SGA president. It is time to move on.