In last week’s Student Senate meeting Commuter Sen. Benjamin Hoffman made a motion to withhold the stipend paychecks of The Free Press executive board members, accusing them of various policy violations committed during the Senate elections of three weeks ago.
According to Senate Chair Marcy Muller, Hoffman brought the motion because The Free Press Executive Editor Steve Peoples placed campaign flyers on car windshields and instructed his staff to do the same, violating the USM Handbill Policy of Oct. 13, 1994.
Hoffman said The Free Press executive board is subsequently responsible for Peoples’ actions in accordance with The Free Press constitution.
When contacted by phone to elaborate on the specifics for his reasoning, Hoffman refused to comment.
Peoples said he has already dealt with USM Police and University administration, among others, on this matter. They informed him of the University policy, of which he was not aware. He has not received any official citation for the incident, and no disciplinary action has been taken.
“I didn’t know that what I was doing was wrong. The minute I was contacted by the police I stopped . I made a mistake, I admitted it, I didn’t try to hide it, and I stopped.”
Peoples and his staff said they made attempts to locate any policies regarding placing flyers on cars, but could not find any in the Student Handbook or the Election Committee guidelines.
“It’s not really about putting flyers on cars. It’s about one senator who’s upset he lost the referendum and is resorting to childish tactics to try to cause trouble,” Peoples said.
Hoffman was a major player in the campaign to discharge the Student Communications Board (SCB) via student referendum in the Senate elections three weeks ago. The SCB is the governing body of The Free Press and WMPG.
Commuter Sen. Justin LaBerge, who says he has agreed with many of Hoffman’s politics in the past, believes that the motion was uncalled for.
“He [Hoffman] is on a mission to destroy the SCB. He lost fair and square. . He is trying to make a point but it stopped being productive a long time ago.”
Senate Parliamentarian Matthew Amoroso said of Hoffman’s motion, “It’s a creative move on his part anyway. I don’t know what the Senate is going to do. As a parliamentarian and from my point of view I just want it to go away. The whole Free Press/Student Senate relationship is a mess.”
The motion was tabled indefinitely upon advisement from Senate Coordinator of Student Senate Operations Kathleen Pease who said it could put the senate “in a liability issue that could be astronomical.”
Pease was the only non-student at the meeting, as Assistant to the Vice President for Student Governance Chris O’Connor, who usually attends Senate meetings on behalf of the administration, was not there.
“Ben made a motion to basically authorize the Senate E-board not to sign any of the checks for The Free Press. The motion was made and then tabled because legalities were brought up. Personally I think it is illegal. I don’t think we can hold any paychecks,” Muller said.
Section IV of the USM Handbill Policy states violators will be subject to the usual Student Conduct Code procedures. Nowhere in this section is withholding stipends or other form of payment for employment listed.
“[Withholding pay] is blatantly illegal and wrong,” said LaBerge later. “It violates every principle of employment.”
Peoples contacted Craig Hutchinson, vice president for Student Development, to set up a meeting with Hoffman, Muller, O’Connor and The Free Press Adviser Bonita Rodden for this week.
“The meeting is to find out what this guy [Hoffman] wants. It’s obvious it’s something personal. It’s out of control. The fact that senators are wasting time on this, we’re wasting time on this . it’s annoying as hell,” Peoples said.
News Editor Elise Adams can be contacted at [email protected]