Consider recall

I’m writing on behalf of the Student Government to explain and clarify some important information concerning the incident surrounding Kyle Lee and Ryan Kaminski.

First, let me express my deepest concern and regret over this incident. It was a horrible, inexcusable e-mail that damaged our College Council beyond measure. Ryan has dealt with this e-mail admirably; he has stayed strong and stood up for himself against adversity. This is an incredibly hard time for him, and it’s important that we understand and support him as a student body.

Because Kyle’s e-mail was so abominable, Ryan moved for Kyle’s impeachment in College Council. While the constitution is vague concerning impeachment, Ryan made a good case for Kyle’s removal and it was hotly debated in the Council. This was a very hard decision for the members of the Council to make because we’ve never had to impeach one of our own before, and I believe that each member of the Council thought long and hard about the issue at hand before voting. Last Thursday, after a long and heated debate, the Council failed to impeach Kyle Lee for his actions against Ryan.

I stand by the Council’s decision. Not because I necessarily believe it was the right decision but because it was the Council’s decision. We need to respect the decision made by the members of College Council and understand how hard this was on them. If you would like to know more about why your College Council representatives voted the way they did, I urge you to contact them via e-mail. But please, be sensitive. Please seek to understand their vote, not to cajole or harass them or punish them for voting the way they did.

There is a solution for those of you who do not believe this decision was right. There is a clause in the constitution that allows for a recall election and I urge those still angered to exercise this constitutional right and recall Kyle Lee. I stand by the Council’s decision, but if the student body demands a recall election, then I welcome it. We need open debate about this issue, and we need the student body’s opinion.

Most of all, we need reconciliation. I’d finally like to ask all of the student body to work together to better understand and resolve the differing views expressed throughout this ordeal. It is my belief that Kyle Lee is genuinely contrite and wants to put right the wrongdoings unto Ryan and the student body. I ask you, the student body, to work toward this goal. It’s only through healing that we can move forward, it’s only through healing that we can make this right and help heal this divide which tears our University apart.

Scott Duncombe

College Council Chair

Third-year Representative

On Lee’s impeachment

By now it is probably already clear to you that the story on the College Council impeachment vote will rank among the most controversial of the year. Many student groups around campus are eager to use this story to reassert their presence and influence on campus. However, the Council would be well advised to pass on the many suggestions groups are likely to offer about how they should conduct business.

Indeed, Lee’s comments are highly inflammatory and, it seems, a fairly accurate reflection of his personal views as they are described in the article. I share Kaminski’s views on the heterosexism of blood banks and support his attempt to impeach Lee. I hoped that institutions of liberal thought such as our own would be immune to the kind of ignorance Lee displayed last week. I was wrong. The Council, however, has already made its decision.

Lee has already branded himself with a particularly negative iron. The pursuit of other means for removing him from the College Council will not cure his ignorance; even if successful, will that punitive measure be any greater than the punishment he currently stands to face from his peers?

Jon Rogowski

Graduate Student, MAPSS