Student Government Comptroller Eric Goldstein said he would not file Judicial and Meditation Services charges against former AUTO Commissioner Zack Schwartz in response to allegations that Schwartz misused the AUTO program.
According to AU policy, a university community member may file a complaint with the JAMS office if he or she believes evidence shows there was a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, Goldstein said. After meeting with JAMS Director Rosie McSweeney and Student Activities Director Karen Gerlach, Goldstein said he decided against disciplinary action through JAMS.
"At this time, I cannot in good conscience file charges with the JAMS office against Mr. Schwartz," Goldstein said, in an e-mail that was forwarded to The Eagle by Schwartz.
After allegations surfaced that Schwartz utilized AUTO vans for personal reasons, the SG Undergraduate Senate voted to censure Schwartz and approved a motion encouraging Goldstein to file charges against the commissioner during a special meeting at 11 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, The Eagle previously reported.
The Senate originally agreed to censure Schwartz after he spoke before the body during a closed meeting on April 19. The Judicial Board later declared the session invalid and Speaker of the Senate Justin Woods called the special meeting, The Eagle previously reported.
According to Judicial Board ruling 2.1.1, the senate may enter a closed session but may not take a vote during a closed session, The Eagle previously reported.
Woods and former Senate Clerk Kristen Cleveland later expressed their displeasure with the conduct of the senators during the April 19 meeting.
"If your grandmas were in the room, you wouldn't have said what you did," Cleveland said at the senate special session. "You can do it with a little bit of respect and it doesn't have to be so harsh."
Cleveland said she was speaking to more than the senators who were blatantly disrespectful during the meeting that ended around 7 p.m.
"I'm just embarrassed," Cleveland said. "Had [my term] ended at 6 [p.m.], I would've just left and said take your own goddamn minutes."
Woods later e-mailed an apology to Schwartz, who forwarded the statement to The Eagle.
"Given the reaction from the public as well as my own dissatisfaction with the way I let the meeting run, I apologize for the unprofessional, disrespectful way the Senate has handled the whole situation," Woods said. "I also want to commend you for the professional manner in which you handled yourself despite the lack of respect on our side."
The senate approved Cory Ward, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, as the 2009-2010 AUTO commissioner Sunday.
After the closed session, Ward contacted Schwartz and a few senators to find out more about the allegations and meeting, Ward said.
"I have nothing to hide," he said in his confirmation speech. "I was trying to get that out to as many of you as possible."
Schwartz told him the allegation that the fraternity they are both in was not paying to use AUTO vans was untrue, Ward said.
Ward said he is not close to Schwartz despite their membership in the same fraternity.
"I am not Zack Schwartz," he said. "Yes, I am in the same fraternity, but I am not Zack Schwartz."
Ward told the senators he would possibly use Schwartz as a resource since the former commissioner created a $1,300 surplus in the AUTO program.
Goldstein took away AUTO Commissioner Zack Schwartz's access to AUTO van keys on April 20 in response to allegations that Schwartz had misused the AUTO system.
As commissioner, Schwartz had a pin number that allowed access to every AUTO van key. He agreed to the decision to remove his key access and can no longer access the box where the van keys are stored, according to Goldstein.
During the special session, Goldstein told the senators he and Schwartz came up with policies to prevent future abuse of the AUTO system such as limiting the number of people with access to the keys and sending an automatic e-mail to the Comptroller and Student Activities when a pin number is used.
You can reach this staff writer at landerson@theeagleonline.com.
