After taking a leave of absence for the Fall 2001 semester, Student Union Tribunal member James Hoogenhous will remain absent from the Union this spring after failing to find housing for the semester, he said last night.
Interim Tribunal member Kendall Smith, currently holding Hoogenhous’ spot on the three-member Union judicial branch, said he will continue on the Tribunal for the rest of the year.
Hoogenhous, who will return next year as a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, informed several Union leaders, including President Michael Moffo and Senate Chairwoman Kirsten Lundeen, that he would not be returning for spring semester in an email Tuesday morning.
Hoogenhous said he took the fall semester off for personal reasons and originally expected to come back for the spring semester. He said he waited too long to secure housing, but plans to return to BU and serve on the Tribunal in the fall.
Smith was appointed and ratified at the Union meeting on Nov. 12, 2001, more than two months after the start of the academic year.
The same night, the Senate formed a committee to investigate whether Hoogenhous had fulfilled his Constitutional duties as a Tribunal member. The commttee reported at the Dec. 10 Union meeting that Hoogenhous could continue to hold his position when he returns and should not be impeached, Moffo said.
Tribunal member and CAS junior John Underwood said he and Tribunal member Lisa Franchini, a CAS sophomore, also ruled that Hoogenhous could continue to serve after his leave of absence, clarifying the Union constitution, which sets no guidelines with regard to leaves of absence.
“The charter is set up so once you step down, you can’t return,” Underwood said. “Our clarification wasn’t made especially for James or for this semester — we filled a gray area in the constitution regarding taking a leave of absence.”
Underwood said the Tribunal ruling stated that a Tribunal member could take a leave of absence for personal reasons or to study abroad, provided they notify the Union president, Tribunal members and Senate chairperson. The Tribunal set no limit on for how long members could take a leave of absence.
“James notified all of the right people in this case,” Underwood said.
Moffo, a senior in the College of Communication, told the Union senate Nov. 5 that he did not feel Hoogenhous had fulfilled his constitutional duties as a member of the Tribunal in taking a leave of absence and vacating his spot for the fall semester.
“It was unprecedented then, and it’s even more unprecedented now,” Moffo said.
Moffo said he did everything he could as president at the Nov. 5 meeting to express his opinion on the matter.
“The issue is now in the hands of next year’s administration,” he said. “I’m not going to leave them a legacy of my opinion.”
Moffo said his appointment of Smith as an interim Tribunal member was the only part of the situation in which he could make a decision. He said he is “very pleased” with Smith’s work on the Tribunal so far.
Smith said he did not expect to come back for this semester after the Senate’s special committee found that Hoogenhous would not be impeached, but he is “happily accepting” the opportunity to serve next semester.
Hoogenhous originally joined the Tribunal in the middle of the Spring 2001 semester after serving in the Senate during the fall and early spring. He said he applied because he felt he had a good understanding of the Union constitution after rooming with one of the current constitution’s framers, Class of 2000 graduate Karl Wicker.
“I felt I had knowledge and I thought I could help out,” he said. “I thought there would be less politics involved in the position. I thought it was something I would enjoy doing, and I did.”
Hoogenhous said he notified the Union mid-summer that he would be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. He said he thought the Tribunal seat would be held for him until his return.
“I think the ruling the Tribunal made will still apply,” he said. “I think I’m still able to do everything I need to do on the Tribunal.”
Underwood said he and Franchini spoke as soon as they got Hoogenhous’ email on Tuesday morning and decided that the ruling they made last semester will stand.
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