After a long budgeting discussion at a Student Government Association meeting April 5, Sen. Wyatt Deutsch motioned to impeach Parliamentarian Jeffrey Wainwright because of a letter to the editor he submitted to The Advocate.

The motion failed with a 15-12 vote with two abstentions.

“I was very passionate about the UPJ student body being aware of what I perceived as an injustice to them, and a letter to the editor in The Advocate seemed like the best way to reach them,” Wainwright said.

He said he went into the student government meeting with no idea that there would be a problem with his letter, and he said he was surprised by the motion.

Deutsch retracted his comment because he said he did not want them associated with his title.

Vice President Nicholas DiGiorgio argued during the debate that the letter reflected badly on the organization.

Secretary Casey Ansbro took part in the debate on Wainwright’s behalf.

“(Wainwright) is a unique character that is willing to tell the truth and stand for what he believes in,” Ansbro said.

She said that Wainwright challenges senators and students to think beyond the ordinary and look for ideas to better the university.

“The decision to keep Parliamentarian Wainwright on the Student Government Association was proudly my decision among 14 other senators,” Ansbro said.

She said, in the past, senators who have made poor decisions in student government member’s eyes have received a warning. Impeachments, she added, don’t typically occur.

In extreme cases, a senator would be asked to resign, and impeachment is a last resort, according to Ansbro.

She added, however, that each senator has the right to the motion to impeach another senator.

President Kyle Maguire said the motion was appropriate, and the vote total proved that. He said if a third of the association felt that Wainwright acted out of line, it was an appropriate motion, which, according to Maguire, was the case.

“Jeff (Wainwright) had every opportunity to work with Nick (DiGiorgio) and (me) to resolve this issue about qualifications, but he instead bashed the student government that every senator worked to build because he did not get his way,” Maguire said.

He said the motion was Wainwright’s warning, although he did not expect it to happen.

The topic Wainwright brought up in the letter could have been handled by having meetings with the student government executive board, DiGiorgio and Maguire, as well as having meetings with student policy members, according to Maguire.

“Jeff (Wainwright) brings a great view to student government, but he acted out of line,” Maguire said.

Since the letter came out the day of the student government meeting, members did not have time to react to the letter. Maguire did not offer an opinion during the impeachment debate.

Student government adviser Shawn Brooks was at the meeting, but left before the motion to impeach.

“Had I been there, that would have been the first time I saw that (motion to impeach) happen,” Brooks said.

He also said, had he been there, he would have stepped in with some intervention, which he does sparingly.

“I’m glad cooler heads stepped in, so I didn’t have to step in after the fact,” Brooks said.

He said it is in the association’s constitution that they can motion to impeach for any reason, but he felt this case sent a bad message to people.

“I don’t want people who criticize the Student Government Association to feel they need to be silenced in fear of impeachment,” Brooks said.

Instead of motioning for impeachment, the dispute could have been taken care of in a different way and discussed, according to Brooks.

“My intention is to address student government at the next meeting about the message it sends when someone challenges you (student government) and you then try to silence them further,” Brooks said.

It was Wainwright’s right write a letter to the editor, and enough people in student government realized that, according to Brooks.

DiGiorgio requested to have his comment on this topic shared via a letter to the editor, which is published on page 5.