The Undergraduate Senate voted to censure AUTO Commissioner Zack Schwartz during a special session late Wednesday night and approved a motion encouraging Student Government Comptroller Eric Goldstein to file charges against him in connection with allegations he misused AUTO vans.
The body also approved legislation that would increase oversight over the AUTO program and within the SG executive branch. The senate previously passed the AUTO oversight bill during a closed session in the middle of their five-hour-long regular meeting Sunday.
"Unfortunately, the Senate erred when we rendered a decision in a closed session, intended to rectify an internal matter while preserving the AUTO program for use by future generations of students," the senate said in a statement released Tuesday regarding the closed meeting.
During the closed session, the senate had also debated the allegations against Schwartz and took action against him, including a censure. The bill and the senate's censure vote stemmed from an anonymous e-mail that alleged Schwartz had used AUTO vans without permission and had used a van for his fraternity's use. Schwartz denied the accusations, The Eagle previously reported.
"It came to the Senate's attention that the Executive Branch had failed to address personnel problems in AUTO dated as far back as September," read the senate statement. "In fulfilling its role as a body of oversight in the Student Government, the Senate wished to learn more about the details pertaining to this critical personnel matter which led to the necessity of the closed sessions."
These decisions are currently considered invalid because the senate had made the decisions during a closed session.
In addition to reconsidering the oversight bill, the senate also approved a resolution Wednesday calling for SG executives to "properly oversee their cabinets."
The senators removed a clause in the bill that had previously prompted negative e-mail responses from SG executives prior to the meeting.
"The 2008-2009 Executive have done little in the form of providing proper oversight of their cabinets," the clause said.
SG Secretary Madeline Tomchick and SG Vice President Andrew Woods responded to the e-mail statement, which The Eagle had access to because an Eagle reporter had been carbon-copied on them.
"Senate, I would ask in the future for the sake of logic, professionalism, and credibility that you remove any un-founded accusation when writing bills," SG Vice President Andrew Woods wrote. "Thank you."
Tomchick echoed Woods' sentiment in her e-mail, saying her cabinet had not faced any issues.
"My two biggest departments, IT and Design, have done extraordinary work and I watched over them just fine," she wrote. "So please give me a reason as to why my cabinet and my position is being blamed."
Senate Speaker Justin Woods called Wednesday's special session after SG Comptroller Eric Goldstein, who has oversight of the AUTO program, sent an e-mail to Woods, SG President Seth Cutter and Senate Parliamentarian Anthony Dunham Monday afternoon to inform them that all actions the body took while in a closed session during Sunday's meeting were invalid.
"According to the Judicial Board ruling 2.1.1 (from the third JB) 'However, in these [closed] meetings, no decisions shall be made; there shall only be discussion about the pertinent information. The [closed] meeting shall end before any decision is made.' The Senate is not allowed to reach decisions while in a closed session," Goldstein said in the e-mail.
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