The Student Senate voted to formally remove Michael Metcalf from his position of elections board chairman at Wednesday's Student Government Association meeting.
Of 40 Senators present, only one voted "no" after SGA president Tolu Olowomeye gave reasons for initially dismissing Metcalf. Sen. Chad Miller said there was not enough evidence to garner a "yes" vote.
"I did not know the comments," Miller said. "I did not feel I was being educated enough to make the decision."
Olowomeye dismissed Metcalf last Wednesday for calling secretarial candidate Nataki Sanders an "idiot" in the context of a joke at an elections board meeting. When asked, Metcalf told Olowomeye that he did indeed make the remark.
The executive board, made up of the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer of SGA, voted to remove Metcalf and announced the decision Wednesday. The decision was not final until Wednesday, though, when the Senate voted. SGA bylaws require a two-thirds vote from the Senate to remove a board or committee chair.
The executive board initially dismissed Metcalf under Robert's Rules of Order, a set of rules used to regulate parliamentary procedure. Robert's Rules state that an executive board can vote to remove an official between sessions of Senate.
The SGA bylaws then state that both sides should be given the opportunity to address the Senate. Metcalf declined, though, saying he would let the Senate decide whether or not they wanted to investigate further.
Olowomeye did present her case, though.
"We can't have situations where inappropriate things are being said," Olowomeye said. "If he is reinstated, it will be a problem for me."
Olowomeye said the fact that Metcalf made the remark in the context of a meeting compromised his integrity as elections board chair.
"If he would have been in his bedroom joking with his roommate, that is between him and his roommate," she said.
When senators asked, Olowomeye said she could not quote Metcalf precisely. She said there were two versions. Metcalf's version, which was confirmed by Will Garvey, a member of the elections board, was reported in the Daily News last Thursday.
"I said, 'One treasurer candidate is a business major, the other is an idiot. Why should you be treasurer?'" Metcalf said, explaining that his comment was a mock debate question.
Olowomeye said the other version, which was initially reported to her was "in a harsher tone" and contained profanity.
While most senators found Olowomeye's argument to be sufficient reason for dismissing Metcalf, Miller disagreed.
"People were voting yes just for the fact that Tolu told us to," Miller said.
Joe Flores, SGA secretary and interim elections board chairman, was unanimously approved as the replacement for Metcalf. Flores occupied a seat on the board before being promoted, but his spot on the seven-person board will not be filled. Olowomeye said that it is too far along in the election process to add a new member to the board.
Elections will be Monday and Tuesday. Students can vote online.
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