Boston University Student Government resolved the outstanding business of an impeachment hearing, a resolution regarding StuGov control over the Community Service Fund and the Senate Dress Code.
The meeting began with the hearing of Judicial Advisory Committee Commissioner Daniel Markovic, who was impeached last week for hiring more JAC staffers than outlined in the constitutional bylaws.
JAC is “primarily concerned with maintaining physical and digital archives.” The Committee writes reports every semester on issues relevant to StuGov and provides judicial review and opinions to other branches.
Deputy Chief Justice Ben Klein, who filed the complaint against Markovic, said the judicial bylaws stated only one to three staffers could be hired by the JAC.
Markovic said nine staffers were initially hired, looking to later have some confirmed as Commissioners by the Senate and avoid violating a rule stating everyone must be hired at once.
“There was no possible way that I could have hired the adequate amount of people requested me in the hiring process without thereby also violating rules,” Markovic said. “The bylaws themselves are fundamentally flawed.”
Following email communication with Klein, Markovic directed overhired staffers to other departments of StuGov.
Klein’s arguments focused on the constitutional violation and the intentionality behind Markovic’s actions.
“I believe (he violated the bylaws) intentionally because that rule has been written in the judicial bylaws for almost a year now,” said Klein. “The justices voted to approve it on Nov. 7, 2021, so it’s been discussed by the JAC prior to that and so I think Mr. Markovic knowingly violated that rule, because it’s been on the books.”
Markovic also argued that the bylaws were inaccessible and that he relied on Klein to relay the proper information, as the most recent accessible version of the bylaws he could find were from 2019.
The Daily Free Press could not find a current version of the Judicial Bylaws, and the website said the commission was last updated on Oct. 27, 2019.
The Stugov Constitution states that Articles of Impeachment must demonstrate “how the member in question has neglected the duties of their office, egregiously and intentionally violated the Constitution and/or relevant bylaws, or has been prevented from faithfully conducting their duties due to any conflicts of interest.”
After hearing statements from Markovic and Klein, senators resumed a private discussion period regarding whether to remove Markovic from office.
Senators voted against Markovic’s removal from office with 38 votes in the negative, far from the two-thirds affirmative needed to remove him.
“Thank you all so much,” Markovic said. “I love you all.”
StuGov continued wrapping up outstanding business from previous weeks through votes on multiple agendas introduced at the previous meeting.
At the meeting, senators voted on the ability of StuGov to require “a minimum of 25% of the overall CSF to the funding of Class Initiative events in the Campus Activities Board and Student Government Events Department joint budget.”
The resolution passed with 38 votes.
Moreover, CAS Senator Adam Shamsi and COM Senator Grace Choi introduced a resolution to no longer make the dress code mandatory because “the dress code sets unnecessary social pressure for low-income students.”
The resolution stated senators could still dress in business casual attire if they wanted to.
The dress code change passed with 35 votes.
