Tribunal to decide Ducille’s fate

The Student Union Executive Board will render its decision Monday regarding the fate of the Executive Vice President-elect, who was recently impeached on charges of failing to fulfill assigned duties.

Marshalee Ducille, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, last week resigned her post as executive vice president of the current Union, but the Tribunal may still decide to remove her from the incoming E-board to which she was elected earlier this month.

According to Ducille, the procedures that followed her notification of the charges have been constitutionally flawed and a reflection of an abuse of power by unchecked Union officials.

When asked why she didn’t specify these claims earlier, she said she was trying to avoid the same “shady and dirty” politics that characterized recent impeachment procedures.

Ducille alleged that last Tuesday, upon being notified of the writ against her and her pending impeachment, Tribunal member Luke Donaher, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, tried to “negotiate a deal” in which she would “resign quietly” from next year’s E-board, and in exchange, he would “make the writ disappear.”

Donaher said although he didn’t recall if all three Tribunal members knew of the proposed compromise, he was acting in the Union’s best interest, and that he would have tabled the writ of impeachment for the next two weeks until the current E-board’s term was over as long as Ducille would have agreed not to serve next year.

“I told her what I thought would be best,” Donaher said. “It’s my job to look out for the Union and be fair — this has not been a good year for the Union and I felt there was room to compromise.”

Ducille said she declined the offer because it was “shady,” and that it seemed as though Donaher was acting “out of order” in a Tribunal that is supposed to come to a consensus with all three members.

“He’s abusing his power,” Ducille said.

Donaher said because he is the “senior Tribunal member,” a position not constitutionally stated, but which is based on a five-year precedent of having other senior Tribunal members, he can somewhat preside over procedures.

Ducille said she based her decision to resign from the current slate on Donaher’s assertion that if she did so, she would be ineligible for removal next year.

Donaher said he could not recall whether or not he made that statement.

Ducille also pointed to a procedural snafu as evidence of constitutional impropriety.

Although it states in the constitution that the entire E-board must be notified of impeachment proceedings by the Senate chair within 24 hours after the Tribunal notified the Senate chair, that is not what happened.

Members of the E-board were not formally notified of Ducille’s impeachment by the Senate chair at any time. Vice President of Public Relations Dan Feder, a University Professors Program junior, said he didn’t know of the impeachment until last Monday’s Senate meeting — nearly four days after the Senate chair was supposed to be notified, as stated in the constitution.

“If this is going on, then why didn’t someone write a writ?” Donaher replied.

School of Education senior Kyle Tobiason, a SED senator who wrote the initial writ that proposed Ducille’s impeachment, said he had no comment as to how he would react to the Union not following constitution procedure regarding his allegations.

“If they decide to not to remove [Ducille], I’m all for it,” Tobiason said. “And if they do, I’m all for that too.”

Ducille said she inquired as to how she should go about writing a counter-writ citing constitutional errors, but she said Donaher was less than helpful.

“The constitution is based on the fact that we have an unbiased Tribunal,” Ducille said. “But they are a Tribunal that picks favorites.”

“[Ducille] was asking me things that I couldn’t answer because it involved a Tribunal ruling,” Donaher said, pointing to the fact that the Tribunal cannot make formal decisions without a consensus.

According to Ducille, Donaher is “abusing his power” and essentially “unchecked” by the Senate.

Donaher said no official decision has been made regarding Ducille’s removal.

Members of the incoming E-board claim Donaher approached President-elect Mike Moffo, a College of Communication junior, and told him as a “courtesy” that the decision on Monday would be to remove Ducille from next year’s slate.

Donaher would not comment on approaching Moffo.

“There are a lot of discrepancies between what the two of us have both said,” Donaher said. “And it’s unfortunate.”

Donaher added he would be open to a meeting with Ducille to reaffirm her commitment to the incoming E-board, as did Ducille.

According to E-board members, Ducille’s attendance at meetings dropped dramatically this semester and she was not fulfilling her duties. She admitted to poor attendance but said it was a deliberate boycott of principles she opposed.

However, the E-board was unable to supply attendance records documenting Ducille’s absences.