On Wednesday night, the ASUO Senate denied former Senate President Athan Papailiou’s appointment to the body after a rancorous meeting that brought one senator to tears and left others expressing fear they could face retribution for their votes.
Papailiou’s appointment was voted down – five for, eight against, three abstaining – amidst allegations that he had “blackmailed” Sen. Nick Gower, concerns about the process by which he was chosen and fear that he might have brought unnecessary acrimony to the Senate.
Virtually deserted aside from senators during most meetings, the EMU Board Room was packed with spectators who sat on tabletops, stood in doorways and crouched under windowsills. Several took the floor to speak, both for Papailiou and against him.
Sens. Emma Kallaway and Lidiana Soto, both of whom voted against Papailiou’s confirmation, said their constituents had approached them expressing fears over Papailiou’s appointment. Sen. Derek Nix said the students he had talked to wanted a fiscally conservative voice like Papailiou’s on the Senate.
Many senators blamed Papailiou for the bitterness of the hearing. Sen. Carina Miller, in a speech delivered through sobs, accused Papailiou of fostering tensions during his time in the Senate. She was one of several at the meeting who accused him of hindering efforts for social justice by lowering budget benchmarks for organizations that supported minority groups.
“There are other people who don’t feel like it’s a safe place when there are senators like Athan at the table,” Miller said.
Others criticized Papailiou’s political style, accusing him of causing former Senate Vice President Donnie Kim to resign, though Papailiou denied the charge. Papailiou’s past political positions also fell under scrutiny.
Papailiou’s allies called the questioning of his policies inappropriate and accused senators of attacking him personally, rather than considering his qualifications. Papailiou said his efforts to lower incidental fees for University students were misinterpreted by the body and denied being an opponent of equality or minority issues.
“I don’t think Athan is really considering this a safe spot right now,” Nix said.
Nix and others defended Papailiou’s record in the Senate, which included restructuring the ASUO’s budget committees. Sens. Jordan Schenck, Tyler Scandalios and Nathan Perley called Papailiou a mentor.
“I can’t think of any student on campus who would be as qualified as Athan,” Department Finance Committee member Brendan Good said.
Sen. Gower brought Papailiou’s qualifications into further dispute by accusing him of blackmail at the beginning of the hearing. During a chance encounter on E. 13th Avenue on Wednesday afternoon, Gower claimed, Papailiou threatened to file grievances against the entire Senate if he was voted down.
Papailiou denied Gower’s accusation, and he was supported by ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, who said he overheard the conversation between Gower and Papailiou.
“It makes me sick that you would make that up as a complete lie,” Papailiou told Gower.
Many senators expressed concern about the manner in which Dotters-Katz had chosen Papailiou. Dotters-Katz said Sunday that Papailiou had been chosen by a selection committee of ASUO Vice President Johnny Delashaw and ASUO Controller Ricardo Cebrecos. At Wednesday’s meeting, however, he said that he and Delashaw had selected Papailiou after interviewing three applicants, then conferred with Cebrecos after the selection.
ASUO rules require that programs must accept applications for five days after announcing an open position. Jones resigned at 3:36 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 5. Dotters-Katz announced Papailiou’s appointment at 12:39 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9. ASUO Sens. Nick Schultz and Noor Rajabzadeh said they each had been approached by two students who were interested in applying for the Senate seat before Friday. When they approached Dotters-Katz, however, he told them he had already made a decision, they said.
ASUO rules, however, give sole authority to invalidating hiring procedures to Dotters-Katz’s office. Dotters-Katz argued that because he would not declare his own selection procedures invalid, the appointment of Papailiou had followed ASUO rules. Delashaw accused the Senate of violating several rules.
“I felt that the Senate was scrutinizing the applicants based on program rules and failed to follow there (sic) own,” Delashaw wrote in an e-mail.
Schultz encouraged other senators with misgivings about the process to vote against the appointment. “That is a huge error in the process and I will never support that,” he said.
“I feel this can tear apart the Senate,” said Sen. Sandy Weintraub.
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Papailiou denied position
Daily Emerald
January 15, 2009
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