Spring Break
Overturn of veto, impeachment out of line
Alex Sanders
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Commentary
On Feb. 18, there was a petition to impeach USG Comptroller Jason Ortiz after he tried to veto a $12,000 funding request from the paintball club. Mary Lorenz, a multicultural and diversity senator, strongly advocated for impeachment, then later decided that she could settle her concern through a different medium, according to a March 3 article in The Daily Campus.
Lorenz was concerned that Ortiz had a bias against non-academic student clubs because he thought it unjust to provide the paintball club with funding, while other academic or charitable groups did not receive such funding. He also highlighted that current economic troubles factored into his decision to not provide funding to the paintball club.
Lorenz was entirely out of line to even consider impeaching Ortiz. His veto was sound, in light of the current state of the economy and otherwise. Lorenz argued that Ortiz had a bias that fell under the definition of discrimination, which is against USG policy; however, there is a difference between bias and favoring one thing over another because of the pros and cons of the situation. In this case, Ortiz had the right idea. $12,000 is a large amount of money that many other student organizations aren't granted. This isn't to say that the paintball club isn't deserving of this amount of money in any way. But if other student organizations aren't getting money in such large amounts - organizations that are charitable, like the ones that plan alternative spring break trips - then the paintball club shouldn't receive that kind of money either.
Ken Rusterholz, the paintball club's chief operating officer, explained that about $10,000 of the funding goes toward practice paintballs. It is great to have a plethora of organizations on campus and the paintball club should be supported. But $10,000 worth of paintballs aren't a priority.
Even with the supporting evidence of a bad economy, Ortiz was faced with more conflict than just the senator's suggestion of impeachment. According to a Feb. 19 article in The Daily Campus, USG President Meredith Zaritheny said that the comptroller was acting outside his role.
Lorenz was concerned that Ortiz had a bias against non-academic student clubs because he thought it unjust to provide the paintball club with funding, while other academic or charitable groups did not receive such funding. He also highlighted that current economic troubles factored into his decision to not provide funding to the paintball club.
Lorenz was entirely out of line to even consider impeaching Ortiz. His veto was sound, in light of the current state of the economy and otherwise. Lorenz argued that Ortiz had a bias that fell under the definition of discrimination, which is against USG policy; however, there is a difference between bias and favoring one thing over another because of the pros and cons of the situation. In this case, Ortiz had the right idea. $12,000 is a large amount of money that many other student organizations aren't granted. This isn't to say that the paintball club isn't deserving of this amount of money in any way. But if other student organizations aren't getting money in such large amounts - organizations that are charitable, like the ones that plan alternative spring break trips - then the paintball club shouldn't receive that kind of money either.
Ken Rusterholz, the paintball club's chief operating officer, explained that about $10,000 of the funding goes toward practice paintballs. It is great to have a plethora of organizations on campus and the paintball club should be supported. But $10,000 worth of paintballs aren't a priority.
Even with the supporting evidence of a bad economy, Ortiz was faced with more conflict than just the senator's suggestion of impeachment. According to a Feb. 19 article in The Daily Campus, USG President Meredith Zaritheny said that the comptroller was acting outside his role.
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