SGA leader resigns following discipline

Author: Kelly Janis

Bobby Joe Smith III '09 stepped
down as Student Government Association
(SGA) president this week after
being suspended from the College
for plagiarism. In accordance with the
procedure stipulated in the College
Handbook, Student Co-Chair of Community
Council (SCCOCC) Antoinette
Rangel '09 will assume the dual role of
President and SCCOCC until a special
election is held in the coming weeks.

Smith began the school year with
a viral infection of the lungs and chest
cavity, which eventually spread to his
sinuses. Because he did not have health
insurance at the time, he was unable to
secure appropriate medical treatment.
When he was prescribed medication
late in the fall, an "ongoing problem"
with the drug conspired with demanding
extracurricular responsibilities and
"personal situations both on and off
campus" to leave him "critically behind"
in his courses. When Smith failed
to complete his work at the conclusion
of the semester, several professors
granted him extensions into January.
As assignments for his Winter Term
class accumulated, Smith's stress level
mounted. He said he "wasn't thinking
very straight" when he handed in
work after neither eating nor sleeping
for two days.
"I didn't go back and check over
those assignments and make sure everything
was done correctly, and I had
a number of citation problems," Smith
said. "I improperly cited a number of
sources, and missed others entirely."

Smith said he took "full responsibility
for the infraction" before the
Judicial Board, which ruled to suspend
him for the spring term.

"It's embarrassing that the situation
happened, especially as a senior,
but it's not something I feel really
down on myself about," Smith said.
"People make mistakes. It was an accident.
What can you do other than accept responsibility and try to make the best of
the situation?"

He said that those who know him know he
would not plagiarize intentionally.

"It's not in my character," he said. "But intent is not included within the framework of establishing guilt for plagiarism."

Smith believes this should be rectified when
students vote on changes to the Honor Code in the near future.

"If you were in a grocery store and forgot
to pay for something and came back and acknowledged it, you're not the same as someone who intentionally stole something," he said. "If something was unintentional, forcing someone to take a semester off, I don't really know what that does."

While he believes it is unjust to punish students who make accidental citation errors to the same degree as those who purchase papers online, Smith has decided not to appeal the decision.

"It would be better for me to go home, take some time off and deal with some of the things going on outside of school that were also influencing me," he said. "I need to take a break for a while so I can come back and finish strong."

Smith will return to Minnesota this week, where he plans to take GRE classes and informally advise the new SGA administration before
returning to the College for his final semester in the fall.

Only a handful of administrators and close friends were aware that Smith was stepping down before he made the announcement at the conclusion of this week's SGA meeting.

"To be completely honest, his resignation comes as a complete surprise," said SGA Diversity Chair Becky Harper '11.

Sophomore Senator David Peduto met privately with Smith before Sunday night's meeting to discuss his frustrations with the organization.

"He was open to it and engaging in a way that made it all the more shocking for me when he said he would have to be stepping down,"Peduto said.

"It wasn't specified to us why he resigned,
but we are most concerned that everything is
okay," Wonnacott Senator Loren Mejia '09 said. "We're trying to pull ourselves back together as quickly as possible."

As it regroups, the SGA will strive, above all, to achieve continuity.

"The last thing we need right now is an abrupt stop to the initiatives senators and cabinet members have been working on all year," said
Smith's chief of staff, Hiba Fakhoury '09.

Smith is wary of the ability of his successor to execute sweeping changes.

"There will be plenty of support for them
to be able to digest everything that's going on," Smith said, "but I don't foresee them being able to bring in new initiatives and implement them, given the time frame."

What members of the SGA should focus on
instead, Smith said, is "reasserting themselves as the voice of the student body."

"They need to say, 'hey, we're the elected officials here. We're supposed to be representing students. And we want a hand in these things,'" he said.

One instance in which Smith feels the SGA is insufficiently consulted is in deliberations on the College's budget deficit.

"I think the majority of the student body feels like they aren't being adequately represented, or being allowed to take part in this process," Smith said. "And they're right."

Smith said that as a member of the Budget Oversight Committee, being asked to represent students while not being permitted to consult them placed him in a "very awkward position."

"Middlebury is too diverse to have two seniors sit on this committee and pretend that theycan represent everyone and make the best arguments possible," he said.

Smith said that while administrators have
made information available on the College's Web site, its utility is questionable.

"How accessible is that information to students who haven't worked in finance for 20 years, or aren't faculty members who have seen these transitions happen and know how it affects their salary?" he asked. "Students have a very different relationship with these things. All of this is very new to us. It's hard to just look at a spreadsheet and understand what it means."

As a result, Smith said he doesn't blame students who feel "animosity" due to being "locked out" of the process.

"That is how they should feel," Smith said. "But now let's look toward a solution."

Smith said much of that solution will involve student effort.

"When [Acting Provost] Tim Spears and President [of the College Ronald D.] Liebowitz have a meeting to discuss the budget, it would help if more than 35 students showed up," he said.

The same goes for students' engagement with the SGA at large.

"They may or may not be aware that the SGA exists, or that it means Student Government Association," Smith said. "Students should seek out their senators and speak with them. Likewise, senators should make themselves available. The source of SGA's power comes from the students."

In addition, Smith said, the SGA must
make internal adjustments in order to shoulder increased responsibility, including facilitating greater interaction among its members.

"They need to work closer as a unit, and make it feel more like a team than it currently does," he said. "There are a lot of factions. They may be friends outside, but they only come together once a week. I don't think that's a very good way of getting things done."

Smith also called for greater time investments from some members of the SGA whose energy is divided among many commitments.

"They are not only representing current students, but future generations," he said. "They're shaping Middlebury College. Putting in just a little bit of time isn't
enough."

As Smith reflects on the time he
himself has devoted to the organization,
he said he considers it a "great le
arning
experience."

"I'm a much better person from
having done this, and I'm much more prepared
for similar positions I may be in down the road," Smith said. "It's had a profound impact that I'm not able to fully grasp at this moment."

He admitted that adjusting to the position was arduous at first.

"My experience as a senator did not particularly prepare me for what would have to happen as president," he said. "Until you're in the position of SGA president, you don't even know what questions to ask."

Smith said he would advise his successor to keep the position in perspective.

"While you're president and the limelight is
on you, it's not about you as much as you might think, or as much as you might put on yourself," he said. "Think of it in the long progression. If you're going to make a big institutional change, it's necessarily going to have to go beyond you, beyond your administration and beyond what you can do by yourself."

To that end, Smith said the next SGA president must be prepared to reach out to a broad cross-section of the College community and harness its talents.

"I think all of the elements are there for the SGA to take on that role of being a true advocate of the students," he said.