In the Student Government Association (SGA)’s first meeting back from the recent break on Monday evening, a two-count censure trial was held against a member of the Executive Cabinet.

The two separate proposed censures against Recording Secretary Anna Skeels regarded a system to quantify the “marginalization” of individual members and a lack of communication during a recent Campus Activities Board (CAB) event.

After a short open floor period, the meeting moved on to the censure trial. Parliamentarian Hayzlett started by explaining the censure process itself.

“If [the censure] does pass, it lasts for 60 days, then it just goes away,” Hayzlett said. “If you get three, then that’s grounds for impeachment, but that has not happened since I’ve been here.”

This process began with Hayzlett sharing the results of some investigative work regarding the censure and reviewing the SGA by-laws that were potentially violated. After this, he said, Recording Secretary Skeels would have an opportunity to speak and address the alleged violations with no interruptions from any other SGA members. This would be followed by an open floor where anyone could ask questions and discuss the issues that led to the censure proposal.

The first censure surrounded a “Woke Points” system created using a board from the SGA office during a previous meeting. This system granted points to SGA members for “each marginalization.”

Multiple executive cabinet members were not made aware of the board prior to the meeting and said that the board had made them feel uncomfortable. The board was ultimately erased after cabinet members expressed their discomfort.

Skeels said that the board was meant as a joke and was not intended to be taken seriously.

“First of all, I would like to mention that this was not created seriously,” they said. “We were messing around in the office, and it was inappropriate. It was never meant to be something that spoke to reality in any real way. It was very much joking and riffing off of each other that went too far.”

The floor was then opened to everyone, though no one took the opportunity to speak.

The process was then repeated for the second proposed censure, this time relating to an incident where Skeels asked SGA members to assist in setting up a CAB event but ended up being preoccupied with a rehearsal. Additionally, SGA members were directed to the wrong location to help with set-up, creating confusion as Skeels was not present to provide any direction.

Vice President Kendra Summers defended Skeels, saying that a rehearsal should take priority over the CAB event.

“Above all, Recording Secretary Skeels needs to get their degree,” said Summers. “While SGA is important, rehearsal and their major comes first.”

When the floor was opened to other SGA members, several expressed confusion over the censure and the events that led up to it. This prompted Hayzlett to restate the by-laws discussed previously while other members explained their own experiences with the incident.

After the discussion, pieces of paper were passed out to the SGA members for an anonymous vote. Members voted on each censure separately, and the results were announced after all of the voting was completed.

SGA voted against both of the censures, voting 10 – 8 on the first and 13 – 4 on the second.

“I’m still wrapping my head around everything,” Skeels said. “I’m happy people discussed it, I’m happy we reached some sort of conclusion. I think I’m just ready to try to fix these problems, talk to people and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

Note of Clarification (12/4): The board involving “Woke Points” was created during an SGA Executive Cabinet meeting by SGA President Dennis McDermott, SGA Vice President Kendra Summers and SGA Recording Secretary Anna Skeels, according to Parliamentarian Bryce Hayzlett. No censure charges were brought against McDermott or Summers during Monday’s legislative body meeting.