Parliamentarian resigns from post

September 17, 2007 —

Facing removal from office over an alleged lack of productivity and professionalism, the SA's Parliamentarian Eric Read has decided to resign.

The decision came after SA's RSO Communication Coordinator Isaac Hudson motioned Read be impeached during last Monday's House.

Read was asked to resign from his position before Monday's meeting, rather than face the possibility of a forced dismissal. He originally refused the opportunity, choosing to fight the accusations.

After a week of thinking, however, Read says he'd rather step down.

"I came to the decision because I am no longer happy being in SA," Read said. "If I'm not happy doing my job, I can't do it to the best of my ability."

Saturday Read said his resignation would become official today at 5 p.m., allowing him to complete the tasks he currently has on the table.

"I want to make sure Constitution Day is taken care of," Read said. "It is an event that is still under my responsibility, and it isn't fair to make my committee shoulder all the work."

Although Hudson brought on the charges, they do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the rest of SA. Hudson the reason for his action was due to his uncertainty about Read's ability to perform as parliamentarian.

"From the moment Eric was elected to the position, I was concerned," Hudson said. "However, I was under the impression that he could handle the position with help. Over the summer, it became more apparent to me that this wasn't the case."

According to Hudson, he spoke about the possibility of going through with an impeachment with eight other members of SA.

"This came about after long deliberation and through seeking spiritual counsel, counsel from colleagues, and from every other type of counsel I could find.

"This is not something I wanted to do," continued Hudson. "This is just something I believe is best for the organization and the students."

In accordance with SA by-laws, Hudson gave a statement proposing the charges of impeachment at the meeting, during which he eluded the charges, including several issues concerning Read's performance - including social misconduct and his ability to adequately lead his committee.

Hudson continued by saying he made several attempts to help Read with his performance, help he says Read repeatedly refused.

"After each of these incidences I had a private conversation with Mr. Read, during which he seemed open and responsive to my suggestions," Hudson said. "However, at the next opportunity, he chose to disregard what we talked about."

Despite resigning, Read said he remains adamant the charges are untrue.

"I still believe these charges are false," Read said. "If I felt I could remain in SA and be effective, I'd do it. However, I feel as if my ability to serve SA and SVSU students has been compromised."

President Jeremiah Stanghini commented on the situation, saying: "This is something no one wants to go through."

Now that he will soon see his time in SA come to an end, Read says he is going to take some time for himself.

"I just want to be a normal college kid for awhile," Read said. "I've been involved with student organizations since I arrived at SVSU. Now that I'm in my last year, I'm going to take some time to myself to study more, to hang out more, and to laugh more."