THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
SPORTS
INSIDE Three inflammatory posters found in Haworth Tuesday night p. 2
Kansas rowing spends winter break promoting team unity in Florida The University Daily Kansan
vol. 136 // iss. 4 Thurs., Jan. 25, 2018
Piece created by local artist sends visitors back in time p. 9
SEE ROWING • PAGE 11
Resign or face impeachment Alleging misconduct, Multicultural Student Government issues its own president an ultimatum
Savanna Smith/KANSAN Multicultural Student Government President Chiquita Jackson (right) speaks during a full Student Senate meeting in fall 2017. Jackson says that recent allegations against her are invalid since MSG does not have an official constitution yet. SAVANNA SMITH @savsmith20 Multicultural Student Government leadership presented Chiquita Jackson, their president, with a notice for impeachment on Sunday night. In the letter, Vice President Anthonio Humphrey listed grievances on behalf of leadership against Jackson and her governing style. The letter asked Jackson to respond to a request for resignation by Thursday at 8 p.m., before impeachment is pursued. “This letter serves as a notice for impeachment because we feel that you are not upholding the duties of a MSG President,” the letter said.
As of now, MSG does not have a formal impeachment process, but it will be discussed at Thursday’s general assembly meeting, according to Humphrey.
“We want all of our multicultural population to be served in the decision on who should govern them.” Anthonio Humphrey MSG vice president
The letter claimed Jackson operated MSG as a
dictatorship rather than a democracy, an allegation which Jackson said she disagreed with. Additionally, it accused her of misusing government funds and inappropriate behavior regarding other multicultural groups on campus. Jackson has refused to resign and refuted the majority of claims. She said due to the lack of a legitimized constitution, there are no grounds for impeachment. “Where is the democracy in that?” Jackson said to the Kansan. “If you want to talk about dictatorship, you’re implementing that in that bylaw.” Jackson said she believes the body passing bylaws after leadership
issued her a notice of impeachment is “backdating” and would not be democratic. However, Humphrey said bylaws have already passed through legislative committee, and he plans to involve general assembly in the process. “We leave the voting up to our general assembly … because people’s voices matter,” Humphrey said. “We want all of our multicultural population to be served in the decision on who should govern them.” Chief of Staff Andrew Davis, who signed the letter, said to the Kansan, “Chiquita has done good things for MSG, and I would hate for that to be overlooked in the process.”
REASONS FOR IMPEACHMENT Events such as a men of color retreat were called "unnecessary" uses of the government's resources.. "Disrespect" was a strong grievance against Jackson as the letter alleged there were multiple "first-hand experiences" according to MSG members and leaders of other student organizations. It alleged that the government's loss of two vice presidents was because of Jackson. The letter described Jackson's leadership as a "dictatorship,” but admitted there wasn't a governing model to follow since the government doesn't have an official constitution yet. Jackson allegedly took twice her allocated pay and justified it because she took on an open position. The letter was signed by almost every MSG executive member, excluding the currently open Government Relations position and the treasurer, which were listed "N/A." TO SEE THE FULL LETTER, GO TO KANSAN.COM
KU alumnus to tackle transparency as mayor KALLI JO SMITH @kallijosmith
Sitting in Z’s Divine Espresso on a rainy Monday morning, recently elected mayor Stuart Boley said he never saw becoming the mayor of Lawrence as part of his original plan, but like most plans, Boley admitted that they tend to change. Boley said it wasn’t until his barber and former mayor of Lawrence, Mike Amyx, told him to run for city mayor that Boley began to really consider the idea. Amyx, who has served six different terms as the mayor of Lawrence, said he knew Boley had been serving on the Sister City Advisory Board at the time, and, with his background in the financial sector, Boley was the perfect candidate for
Sarah Wright/KANSAN Mayor Stuart Boley, a former University student, traveled and worked across the world before returning to Lawrence to become involved in local politics. Boley is pictured with a photograph taken of him in Paris while he lived there. the job. “I thought he would be somebody who would work very well in that position,
and so far that’s exactly what he has done,” Amyx said. “He had the necessary background to do the
job, and he seemed like he obviously cared about Lawrence. You know, if I can plant a bug in somebody’s
ear, I think that’s part of our job as being a commissioner or former is trying to find people that kind of fit the bill to represent the people.” Although not quite convinced, Boley, already an active participant in the Lawrence community, decided to look into Lawrence’s financial budget. Over the next few weeks, Boley, a retired auditor for the IRS of 32 years, said he devoted time going through the city’s 2013 financial statements. Ultimately what he found from the statements was about $15.9 million spent outside of the annual operating budget, Boley said. Although the state does not require non-budgeted funds to be displayed, Boley said he wanted people to have a better idea of where their money
was going. “I really just wanted to be more transparent to the people of Lawrence about how their money was being used,” Boley said. “So in 2015 I pushed to have all the money included in the budget.” The process of Boley becoming mayor is a tradition in Lawrence that starts with five people who serve on the Lawrence City Commission. Every two years the city elects three city commissioners, with the top two finishers receiving a four-year term and the third-place finisher receiving a two-year term, according to Boley. The first-place finisher serves as mayor for a year. The next year, the second-place finisher will
SEE MAYOR PAGE 3