ASI fails to oust peers

New questions about youth mentoring raised at meeting

Attempts to remove two members from the board and the cancellation of funding to the youth mentoring program caused tempers to flare at ASI’s board meeting last Wednesday.

The effort to remove Sean South, director of postbaccalaureate students, and Jeremy Brickner, director of undeclared students, from their positions failed by a vote of 3-8 at a tense ASI meeting.

Kim Shaw, vice president of university affairs, and Heather Tejada, director of natural sciences and mathematics, co-authored the motion to remove South and Brickner from the board for improper conduct last week.

The motion also called for a decision from the Appellate Council to determine whether South and Brickner should be allowed to hold any ASI position in the future.

No evidence of wrongdoing was provided for the board to review until a few hours before the board was to render a decision.

Shaw and Tejada distributed a 12-page document citing reasons and evidence, including letters written by South to the State Hornet, and messages posted to the Associated Students Professor Evaluation and Comment Tracker. No evidence was given regarding Brickner and the motion for his removal was thrown out before discussion began.

“This is not a political or personal attack,” said Shaw.

Shaw and Tejada charged that South failed to focus on his duties as postbaccalaureate director and failed to submit monthly written reports of the school South represents.

The document quoted South from a June 10, 1998, meeting in which he said he would be “watching what happens with student dollars.”

“He is paid to represent the graduate students, but isn’t fulfilling his duties as their representative,” said Shaw and Tejada.

“This is merely a question of doing the basic minimum of the job,” said Tejada.

As the director of postbaccalaureate students, South is required by the operating rules to meet with Ric Brown, the associate vice president of Research and Graduate Studies, within a week after being seated and meet once a month thereafter. He did not meet with Brown until March of this year.

The documentation went further to cite missed committee meetings and profanity filled e-mails to the ASPECT message board.

“You guys are wasting half a meeting bickering if someone should be kicked off the board or not, when there are other subjects that we the students are concerned about,” said Mike Ramsey, a senior undeclared major, speaking during the open forum.

In protest for not being allocated satisfactory time for review of the materials, Greg Darusmont, director of Arts and Letters, read the first four pages out loud.

“I don’t believe that the members of the board had an adequate opportunity to review this document,” said Darusmont.

While Darusmont read the document, several members of the board – including ASI president Gary Davis – walked out of the room. Paul Hegyi, director of Engineering and Computer Science, left the room, then returned shortly and held up a copy of the State Hornet and turned to the comics page.

The only other member of the board to vote with Shaw and Tejada was Stephanie Parrish, director of Business.

In other business, several mentors and students spoke out about ASI’s proposed 1999-2000 budget, which cuts off funding to ASI’s youth mentoring program.

While all members of the board expressed support for the program, youth mentoring has only been in effect at CSUS for one year and money that was allocated to fund the program in the last fiscal year was distributed to the Mall Hall program.