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President 'is in good standing,' says SGA
Ahmet Aksoy
Issue date: 6/10/09 Section: News
The eligibility of Bradley Congelton, Student Government Association president, was questioned recently in an anonymous e-mail sent to the officers and advisors of SGA.
The e-mail, sent on May 20, threatened to "go public" with information the sender believed would deem Congelton ineligible for his seat as SGA president.
The e-mail said that after graduation, Congelton "was no longer considered a student of this university. He has been serving as the SGA president now for 11 days without being in good standing with the university." The e-mail also said that because Congelton had not been accepted to grad school that he was ineligible to serve as president.
This information could not be confirmed and the e-mail failed to provide any documentation for the accusations or past interpretations of the SGA Constitution that may have suggested the president was ineligible.
According to a member of SGA who wishes to remain anonymous, an executive meeting was held on May 27 that included the SGA officers, the Dean of Students and Hodges that discussed Congelton's status as an ECU student
"We were surprised," said Tierni Hodges, SGA Advisor. " … and we moved forward in a professional manner."
"The information is a closed issue," Hodges said in an interview, but she did provide a written letter of interpretation of the issue from the SGA attorney general, Cole Phelps resolving the issue. Hodges is the only SGA representative authorized to release information on the matter.
In his letter he stated, "The constitution fails to define the term 'good standing'," and that he would rely on page 63 of the academic handbook to determine what good standing was in this case.
The student handbook defines good standing as "The minimum academic requirements to avoid probation and/or suspension… ." In Congelton's case this would mean a minimum GPA of 2.0 on coursework completed. For grad school it would mean maintaining a 'C' average.
The attorney general's letter concluded saying, "Therefore, it is my interpretation that students who meet the definition of academic eligibility…and the definition of retention standards…and are enrolled in at least one class are in good standing for the purposes of Chapter 200, 1 (200.1) of the SGA Constitution."
This interpretation clears up misinformation that may have traveled outside of SGA meetings in the past weeks. According to Hodges, Congelton is working towards graduate school.
Congelton and his staff are continuing with their duties as planned and he will remain president for the 2009 - 2010 school year.
This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com
The e-mail, sent on May 20, threatened to "go public" with information the sender believed would deem Congelton ineligible for his seat as SGA president.
The e-mail said that after graduation, Congelton "was no longer considered a student of this university. He has been serving as the SGA president now for 11 days without being in good standing with the university." The e-mail also said that because Congelton had not been accepted to grad school that he was ineligible to serve as president.
This information could not be confirmed and the e-mail failed to provide any documentation for the accusations or past interpretations of the SGA Constitution that may have suggested the president was ineligible.
According to a member of SGA who wishes to remain anonymous, an executive meeting was held on May 27 that included the SGA officers, the Dean of Students and Hodges that discussed Congelton's status as an ECU student
"We were surprised," said Tierni Hodges, SGA Advisor. " … and we moved forward in a professional manner."
"The information is a closed issue," Hodges said in an interview, but she did provide a written letter of interpretation of the issue from the SGA attorney general, Cole Phelps resolving the issue. Hodges is the only SGA representative authorized to release information on the matter.
In his letter he stated, "The constitution fails to define the term 'good standing'," and that he would rely on page 63 of the academic handbook to determine what good standing was in this case.
The student handbook defines good standing as "The minimum academic requirements to avoid probation and/or suspension… ." In Congelton's case this would mean a minimum GPA of 2.0 on coursework completed. For grad school it would mean maintaining a 'C' average.
The attorney general's letter concluded saying, "Therefore, it is my interpretation that students who meet the definition of academic eligibility…and the definition of retention standards…and are enrolled in at least one class are in good standing for the purposes of Chapter 200, 1 (200.1) of the SGA Constitution."
This interpretation clears up misinformation that may have traveled outside of SGA meetings in the past weeks. According to Hodges, Congelton is working towards graduate school.
Congelton and his staff are continuing with their duties as planned and he will remain president for the 2009 - 2010 school year.
This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 21
Brian
posted 6/09/09 @ 6:37 PM EST
This is absolutely ridiculous. I certainly hope this is an independent individual and not a person linked with either defeated ticket, as this is the kind of underhanded tactics you would expect in Washington politics, not in a university. (Continued…)
Scott
posted 6/10/09 @ 9:07 AM EST
To all I kindly suggest you're missing the big-picture point. The tipster's not important. (Don't kill the messenger.) What's important are the facts, no matter who alerts you to them. (Continued…)
Ryan S.
posted 6/10/09 @ 2:54 PM EST
I don't think this is as serious as a U.S. presidency, but I do think that maybe there were errors on both parts: SGA may have had a lax interpretation of the constitution, but that's why you pick people you know well and trust for your "cabinet. (Continued…)
Dylan
posted 6/10/09 @ 4:03 PM EST
Great comparison on the U.S. president, Scott. I do agree with Ryan on it not being as serious an issue as a U.S. presidency but this is serious concern to our ECU community. (Continued…)
Very Concerned
posted 6/10/09 @ 6:07 PM EST
This article raises more questions than answers. Definitely didn't pursue this story all the way.
Silence Dogood
posted 6/10/09 @ 6:33 PM EST
I am glad to hear that more students are concerned with this issue. I know many of you feel that this is not Washington Politics but are you aware that the SGA President is an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees? This is a HUGE legal issue for the university. (Continued…)
Dylan
posted 6/10/09 @ 8:03 PM EST
I agree with you 100% Very Concered. I believe this issue could have or was restrained from being fully covered.
To Mr. Dogood the whole registering for that one class was a wise move by Mr. (Continued…)
The Truth about CORNBREAD
posted 6/10/09 @ 8:30 PM EST
I do agree that this article does not indulge in the inner workings of Student Government here at ECU, being that the person of concern, Mr. Congleton, was not interviewed himself. (Continued…)
CORNBAKED
posted 6/11/09 @ 3:09 PM EST
Whether or not CORNBREAD is the man for the job in this case is irrelevant. The paper should have gotten a statement from him if these accusations were to bee made. (Continued…)
Brian
posted 6/13/09 @ 12:54 PM EST
What people tend to forget about this issue is that the identity of the person responsible may have a lot to say about the purpose of trying to remove Cornbread. (Continued…)
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