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At least 10 Syracuse University Graduate Student Organization senators filed articles of impeachment against GSO President Yousr Dhaouadi last week, which Dhaoadi shared in an email to GSO on Monday. GSO’s Senate is set to hold a meeting on Friday evening to form an impeachment committee.

In the articles, the ten impeaching senators, whose names were redacted in the document Dhaouadi circulated, allege “repeated resistance” by Dhaouadi to the establishment of more transparency and accountability in the organization’s advocacy efforts.

The Graduate Student Organization Constitution mandates that following the receipt of articles of impeachment, the Senate is responsible for appointing a committee at its next regular meeting, or, as for Friday’s meeting, at an out-of-session special meeting called for the express purpose of forming an impeachment committee.

The articles of impeachment point to Article II Section 4 of the GSOC, and advocate for impeachment on its grounds that Dhaouadi represents graduate students to the Board of Trustees, SU administration and the graduate school, and is bound to advocate on behalf of graduate students to the university administration.

Dhaouadi sits on the Board of Trustees at SU via her position as president of GSO, and is a university senator. She spoke at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting, during which she alleged that her attempts to put out open debate on GSO Senate Resolution 23.06 — which at GSO’s Feb. 1 meeting passed to establish its recognition and support for Syracuse Graduate Employees United — motivated the impeachment effort.

The articles do not reference this resolution or discussion surrounding it directly.

“I just want to ask the Senate to, if you know graduate students, just urge that idea of free and open debate on the topic. My goal is really to foster that conversation,” Dhouadi told the University Senate.

Alex Scrivner, the co-author of the resolution and a member of both the GSO Senate and SGEU, emphasized that processes like the impeachment should remain internal. She said she’s seen a conflation of SGEU as a campaign and GSO as a body for advocacy.

“It’s to the benefit of all these bodies, that the GSO’s internal processes (remain) internal processes and there’s not blame pointing to two bodies that could very much collaborate and work together in the future,” Scrivner said.

Kellin Tasber, a university senator and masters student studying biotechnology, said the intention of Friday’s special meeting is to begin the investigation into violations of GSO’s Constitution, or of Robert’s Rules of Order, a general guide to parliamentary procedure.

They said the ensuing process will last two weeks, at which point a hearing based on the findings will take place at an open-door, regular meeting, likely in early March. This period of up to 10 academic days between appointment and public recommendation is mandated in the GSOC.

Benjamin Tetteh — a university senator and Ph.D. student in mass communications who also spoke at the Wednesday meeting — voiced opposition to the impeachment and made a request that the University Senate send a member to Friday’s meeting to act as a neutral party in the negotiations. He said he had received an email earlier on Wednesday indicating the meeting would be closed-door.

SU’s Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Gretchen Ritter, said the university administration will not be involved in the impeachment.

“I need to suggest to you that this is an internal matter of self governance for the GSO,” Ritter said at the meeting. “Unless there is a clear violation of something like the student code of conduct, we believe that it is up to you and your colleagues to sort this through.”

Though GSO won’t provide any updates during the two-week investigation period, Tasber emphasized the unprecedented nature of an external, neutral arbiter. They explained that GSO has its own neutral parties to preside over the affair, including the chair of the Senate and the internal vice president pro tempore, who steps in if the chair is deemed not to be neutral, as well as the parliamentarian.

“I find it very important that due process is had throughout this … and to make sure that everything happens according to the rules we set forth, and be as fair as possible to everyone who is putting forth an opinion in this process,” Tasber said.

At most ten academic days after the committee to be appointed on Friday announces its findings, the GSOC requires a special meeting for the Senate to consider and vote on the recommendation. The latest date for a vote, through which a two-thirds majority can affect an impeachment, is March 17.

Published on February 16, 2023 at 1:00 am

Contact Jana: jlseal@syr.edu | @JanaLoSeal