A second grievance against ASUO President Emily McLain charges her with not fulfilling her duties as president and asks if she should be removed from office.
The grievance was filed Tuesday by Caroline Beranek, who filed a different grievance with similar charges last month.
The first grievance was dismissed by the ASUO Constitution Court because it was not filed against the proper party. Both McLain and Vice President Chii-San SunOwen were named, but the court decided there was no evidence that SunOwen was responsible for performing any of the duties that were allegedly not fulfilled.
This second grievance targets only McLain and is more narrow in scope. It asks the court “whether the ASUO President is in non-fulfillment of duties” and “whether the office of the ASUO President shall be considered vacant.”
According to the grievance, a position on the EMU Board of Directors was vacant from May 26, 2007 until McLain offered the job to Diana Becker on December 2.
Becker was confirmed by the Student Senate in January.
Vacancies must be filled within 30 days, per the ASUO Constitution. Summer term is not counted as part of the 30 day period, but the position was vacant for 74 days, according to the grievance.
The grievance also says McLain created a conflict of interest by appointing a political ally, Kendell Tylee, as elections coordinator.
“I have fulfilled all my duties since the day I entered office on May 25, 2007 and will continue to do so,” McLain said in an e-mailed statement.
“A lot of the same questions from the previous grievance were brought up again, so we will probably be responding in a similar manner,” she said in a later interview.
McLain said she will note in her response to the court that any items on its docket related to spring elections should be given more immediate attention. She also questioned if she was properly served with the grievance because it was e-mailed to her but not hand-delivered.
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