The Student Union General Assembly voted 14-1-0 to censure Vice President Jonah Goldberg, citing him as an impediment to progress.

Union Representative Andrew, who proposed the secret-ballot censure, also asked for a formal limit of Goldberg’s power.

“I formally move tonight that Vice President Jonah Goldberg be censured for conduct detrimental to fulfillment of the Union’s objectives and for conduct unbecoming of an Executive Board member, and that he be prohibited from taking meetings on anything pertaining to the committees he represents unless specifically requested to by the committee chair,” the College of Arts and Sciences senior said.

Golden said that among other problems, Goldberg reacted too slowly earlier in the semester to allegations that Student Union President Jon Marker mishandled the budget.

“First, Jonah, on what even he admitted were little more than rumors about Jon’s ’embezzlement’ of funds, automatically accused Jon of totally disregarding the constitution for his own benefit,” Golden said.

According to Golden, this act combined with Goldberg’s failure to notify Union members of his calling of the emergency meeting before the meeting on Jan. 23 caused discontent among Union members.

“This alone would have been merely short-sighted,” Golden said, “but Jonah then decided to leak these facts and the emergency meeting we had to discuss them to The Daily Free Press so that we in the Assembly had to find out about all this from the front page rather than from our board.”

In the emergency Union meeting questioning Marker’s spending, Goldberg admitted to not informing the other members. Following the meeting Monday night, Goldberg reiterated his apology and regret for not informing Union members of his investigation.

“I already apologized for this,” the College of Communication junior said. “I thought it was over.”

Golden also reprimanded Goldberg’s efforts regarding the recycling committee and the distribution of blue bags.

“Jonah showed immense disrespect to the Recycling Committee by going over their head and putting out the blue bags even after the committee asked him to hold off on it,” he said. “I understand that he is their Executive Board contact, and I do admire his enthusiasm in getting things done. However, despite the Recycling Committee’s objections, he distributed blue bags to South Campus and announced his intentions” when the committee chairman was not available to respond.

Following the meeting, Goldberg stood by his efforts regarding the recycling committee and the distribution of blue bags.

“I think I’ve made this Union a lot better than it would have been without me,” he said. “I think with recycling the blue bags were a huge victory. And I’d like to do it for Bay State Road, too. I think the recycling committee may not have done it without me. They have been pretty slow to act so far. ”

The final point Golden made against Goldberg was in regard to the vice president’s general relationship with the General Assembly.

“Finally,” he said, “Jonah is well-known for his seemingly condescending dismissal of those people and concerns that don’t support his viewpoint, and while alone this wouldn’t be notable, the fact that it has occurred in combination with the points I just mentioned is cause for concern.

“More than once I have listened to his comments in both individual and General Assembly meetings and found myself horrified with the discourtesy that he has used,” he continued. “As our Vice President, I don’t feel that it’s too much to ask that he maintain a degree of tact and diplomacy in dealing with his colleagues, and that trait has simply been non-existent too often.”

Recycling committee chairman Jonathan Williams seconded Golden’s motion to censure, specifically mentioning Goldberg’s claim through emails and other publications that he will be bringing blue recycling bags to Bay State Road, against the will of the Bay State Residence Hall Association.

“We felt it would be a concession and start us on a trail of not getting our own recycling collection facilities,” the College of Arts and Sciences junior said, “as well as creating a problem for the administration and the companies we contract to.”

According to Golden, the decision to censure Goldberg was made Sunday night, with the consideration of impeachment.

According to Constitutional Committee chairman Tyler Ramaker, while there currently is no clause in the Union’s constitution regarding censures, the constitutional committee will be working on an amendment to include censuring. Before taking the vote, Union Secretary Drew Phillips said the censure would be treated as an impeachment, requiring a three-fourths majority in order to pass.

Following the meeting, Goldberg expressed concern regarding the Union’s decision to vote with a secret ballot.

“It is unacceptable for a body that pretends to represent the student interest to hide itself from public scrutiny by keeping secret the votes of its members,” he said. “At the first retreat we all came to a consensus that there would never be a secret ballot and that is one thing I have always felt strongly about. How on Earth are the representatives supposed to be held accountable by their constituents if they can’t find out how their representatives voted?”

Goldberg said he was not surprised when Golden approached him with the idea of a censure.

“I’m not really surprised,” he said. “I’ve known for some time that the vast majority of the General Assembly hates me.

“I’m here to [represent] the entire student body. I was elected in an election that included 4,000 student voters, not 30 or less, which is like the average RHA or College Government,” he continued. “I’m here to represent everybody, and I think I’ve done a pretty damn good job of doing that. I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback from all of the students I work with … And I don’t plan on letting the opinions of 14 people change that.”

Goldberg also said he stands by his actions in regard to the Union, saying he was more active than most members of the organization.

“I think it’s amazing that they just censured one of the most active members of the Union,” he said. “I’m the guy who brought elevators to Towers, and I was instrumental in fixing the inequity in Kosher dining. I brought recycling to South Campus with the huge assistance of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, and I feel like I’ve done a heck of a job of improving this campus. And not all the representatives can say that.”

Goldberg also said, despite the censure he will continue his efforts within the university.

“This is a slap on the wrist,” he said. “I’ll get an icepack. At the end of the day, this isn’t going to stop me from doing anything.”