The Associated Students of Colorado State University Senate began the impeachment process of Senator Kwon Yearby Wednesday.
Impeachment has only been attempted in ASCSU Senate twice in the last 15 years, according to Senator Samuel Laffey. Both attempts were unsuccessful.
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The impeachment was brought before the senate Wednesday by a petition signed by three ASCSU senators accusing Senator Yearby of violating unspecified parts of articles six and seven of the Colorado State University Student Code of Conduct.
Article six of the student code reads: “Abusive conduct, including physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, bullying, stalking, coercion, and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the physical or psychological health, safety, or welfare of one’s self, another individual or a group of individuals.”
Article seven reads: “Harassment, meaning verbal or physical harassment on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation, age, religion, or physical disability, including but not limited to any violation of federal or state laws, or University policy, prohibiting harassment.”
The call for impeachment does not specify which parts of the code Senator Yearby violated or his specific actions.
“I have never harassed anyone and I have never abused anyone,” Senator Yearby said in response to the charges. “I feel like it’s an embarrassment of ASCSU. I feel like this is a personal attack … this is outrageous.”
Wednesday night the senate nominated a committee to oversee the impeachment.
“This committee isn’t about making a decision, it’s about discovering the facts and presenting our findings to the Senate,” ASCSU Deputy Chief Justice Rioux Jordan said.
The senate has the power to determine the makeup of the committee, from whether or not they have to be ASCSU officials to how many people should be on the committee.
Despite repeated attempts from Senator Yearby to include non ASCSU officials in the decision-making process, the senators determined that seven ASCSU officials would make up the committee.
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“I think we have inside of ASCSU a plethora of people to pull from that have these such experiences,” Senator Bondi said.
The Senate moved forward by nominating 12 ASCSU officials before discussing on and voting in the final seven members of the committee.
The seven members of the committee are Senator Sami Slenker, Deputy Chief Justice Rioux Jordan, Associate Senator Matthew Lancto, Senator Jason Sydoriak, Representative Duane Hansen, Senator Michelle Crites and Senator John Hopkins.
“I’m going to look at this matter with a level head,” ASCSU Representative Dwayne Hansen said.
Senator Yearby defended himself against the accusations, stating that he works hard in ASCSU senate to represent CSU students.
“I’ve always tried to do my best for the students,” Senator Yearby said.
Collegian ASCSU Beat Reporter Jonathan Matheny can be reached online at news@collegian.com or on twitter at @jonathanmathen2.
