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The UO Constitution Court ruled Wednesday that Student Senate President Sara Hamilton would be removed from the Senate.
A grievance filed by Senator Erica Reiko Anderson charged that Hamilton had not been fulfilling her duties as a senator because on three occasions she failed to send out a Senate agenda within 48 hours of the regular Wednesday meeting. The grievance accuses Hamilton of violating Oregon Public Meetings Law as well as Senate rules.
The court ruled that while Hamilton did not violate the public meetings law, which requires only 24 hour notice of all meetings, she was in violation of Senate rules. The ruling says the court found four additional instances of Hamilton not sending the agenda out 48 hours prior to the meeting.
Anderson said she had asked that Hamilton make a formal apology to the Senate, and she did not know what would happen.
“It wasn’t my goal to get her removed from Senate,” Anderson said, adding that she was not going to apologize for the court’s ruling.
According to article 5.3 of Senate rules in the Green Tape Notebook, any Senator found to not fulfill the duties of their position must be removed from their seat. Although the court stated in its opinion that the punishment was too harsh, it had no choice but to follow the rules as they are laid out in the governing document.
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“While the Court feels that such a punishment is unnecessarily severe and completely out of proportion to the offense that has been committed, it is required to enforce it,” the ruling reads. “The Rules of the Student Senate are mandatory authority that this Court is bound to apply; they do not permit the Court to exercise its discretion in balancing the equities of the circumstances.”
The Senate discussed the move and some voiced their opinions that the move was timed specifically to interrupt Hamilton’s bid to become ASUO president. Anderson denied the charges and said she could not control how slowly the court operates. When questioned by Sen. Karl Mourfy as to whether she had approached Hamilton about the problem prior to going to the court, Anderson admitted that she had not used any of the internal means of recourse available to her.
Sen. Jacob Daniels said, “I find it morally and ethically reprehensible.”
Senate Ombudswoman Natalie Kinsey added that as ombudswoman, her job is specifically to deal with discipline issues in the Senate.
Hamilton stated she felt the move was politically motivated and emphasized her two years of service to the Senate.
Sen. Ashley Sherrick said each senator could be accused of non-fulfillment of duties.
“The precedent set by this court will effectively set grounds for the potential removal of every Senate member,” she said.
Dallas Brown, a spokesman for Hamilton’s ASUO presidential campaign, called the allegations against Hamilton “politically motivated and strategically timed.”
Brown said the effort to remove Hamilton from the Senate is an attempt at “defamation of character” and a distraction from the political process.
“Such trivial grievances are aimed at disrupting government and will severely affect the ability of Senate to serve students,” he said.
Brown said the timing of the grievance is “representative of the integrity of our opponents.”
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