Impeachment threats following 'tequila party' dropped at Bowdoin
Two student senators at Bowdoin College who were facing articles of impeachment for attending a “tequila themed party” were cleared of all charges last week after the student government found its constitution to be “extremely vague.”
“It has been brought to light that the impeachment proceedings in the BSG constitution and bylaws are extremely vague and could make not only us but the entire assembly vulnerable to legal action,” student Jacob Russell told The Bowdoin Orient. Russell and two of his peers were responsible for drafting the initial impeachment bills along with a resolution to “stand by all students who were affected by the ‘tequila’ party.”
[RELATED: Students face impeachment, year-long social probation for ‘tequila’ themed party]
The motion for impeachment gained the support of administration, which launched an investigation into the party and denounced it as an act of “ethnic stereotyping.”
[RELATED: Bowdoin creates safe spaces for victims of tequila themed party]
Despite the student government’s best efforts, members were forced to drop their calls for impeachment because of a complete lack of clarity in the constitution’s impeachment process. In fact, it is unclear whether there even was an impeachment clause to begin with, since The Orient reported the senate voted to establish a formal impeachment procedure just last week.
“We were going to carry out impeachment proceedings as we figured out the procedure itself. There was something that was inherently unfair about that,” Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) President Danny Mejia-Cruz said, who added that senate voted last week in favor of an amendment that would establish a formal impeachment process.
At an open forum last week, some accused the three students of backing down from their calls for impeachment because of potential lawsuits. According to The Orient, they worried that following through with the impeachment hearing while simultaneously developing a process for impeachment could result in legal action.
“We either were unwilling to risk legal action or simply did not have the money to be able to possibly pursue that without a firm statement from the College that they would be behind us, legally, so we are working on that,” Russell said.
Even though the new impeachment process did pass its first vote, BSG insists it will not reintroduce the articles of impeachment.
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