Word: burtons
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...meager 20 minutes that council President Fentrice D. Driskell '01 and parliamentarian Alex A. Boni-Saenz '01 allotted for the entire discussion reflected a complete lack of proportion and would have skewed the procedure in Burton's favor had council members not intervened. The repeated suspension of the bylaws by two-thirds majorities of the council demonstrates that the rules were arbitrary, poorly crafted and not well adapted for this setting. These procedural flaws were only compounded by the general lack of decorum and attention paid by many council members...
...this context, it is no surprise that the votes on the two articles of "impeachment" were in logical contradiction. On the first article, that Burton willfully misrepresented his use of campaign buttons as a "freely available resource" to the election commission, the council voted 47-33 against expulsion. On the second article, that Burton had acted improperly in taking the buttons from a student group, a majority of the council voted to expel him. It is hard to imagine how one could improperly take buttons that are freely given to students; one cannot steal a "freely available resource" any more...
After a majority of the council has called for his expulsion, Burton's resignation would be in the best interest of the council and the student body. If nothing else, the "impeachment" vote was a vote of no confidence in Burton. If a majority of the council members do not think he should even hold office, let alone serve as the second-in-command, it gives rise to serious doubts as to his ability to lead the council effectively in the coming year. Last month's skirmish over special election dates foreshadows the battles that are sure to come...
This is to be expected of a council that harbors legitimate bitterness over what it perceives as ethical lapses by its vice president. As a representative, Burton was twice the subject of disciplinary action for truancy from meetings. As a candidate, Burton conducted his campaign just shy of the law and with a general disrespect for the rules. No reasonable person would believe that buttons were a freely available resource for campaign purposes, especially when the entire stock of 180 was taken at once from a locked room; any attempt to say otherwise is a semantic manipulation. The council...
After a battle over buttons, some might accuse the council of having turned a molehill into a volcano. However, a majority of the council felt Burton's offenses were serious enough to merit his removal for "conduct unbecoming of a Harvard student." Although we sympathize with Burton's recent personal and political troubles, the unfortunate fact is that he has acted in ways unbecoming of a council vice president. A single foolish decision that could have been easily remedied with a shamefaced apology snowballed into a serious question about Burton's willingness to admit wrongdoing and make the interests...